Deadly Huntress, Ferocious Dragon
by Penguinlord352
Summary: This starts off similarly to the SAO fan fiction The Prince of Swords, and could be called a fan fiction of that tale at first. This will follow my OC as he journeys through a far different plot line, and will not hold too much interaction with Kirito and the female leads of Sword Art Online. It will follow a lead front line scouting guild and the fierce fighter who creates it.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own SAO or any of the associated matters. I do not own The Prince of Swords; that belongs to ToumaFF. I am merely drawing further inspiration from his writings and using similar events to his second and third chapters in this opening chapter.

A/N: I do not intend to do this the whole story, but there will be moments where I go into first person narrative. Like the dream sequence you'll be reading in a few seconds. Enjoy. Also, I have taken creative liberties with regards to player character stats, since I can't find any listed anywhere. I went with strength (STR), agility (AGI), defense (DEF), vitality (VIT), and dexterity (DEX). Each stat goes up three points per level with an additional three points that can be distributed by the player.

Here's a breakdown of the character's current equipment, stats and skills. This won't have specific numbers of things like HP or Attack, but then again, you aren't reading this for that anyways, right?

Username: Ryzo

Level: 2

Stats: STR 11, AGI 8, DEF 8, VIT 8, DEX 8

Skills: «Dagger» Proficiency 12/1000, «Acrobatics» Proficiency 20/1000

Equipment: «Iron Dagger», «Basic Armor»

And now we begin. Welcome to Sword Art Online: Deadly Huntress, Ferocious Dragon!

* * *

**The First Chapter: Path Towards Tomorrow**

Once more, my mind went back to that day when my eyes shut as the sun began to peek through the window of my room. I was exhausted from training all night long...it was all I could do to avoid being a target of hate or envy as a beta tester. That first day came back every single time my eyes closed for more than an instant.

November 6, 2022-Nightmare

Location: Starting City, Central Plaza

**[Players, welcome to my world. My name is Kayaba Akihiko. Right now, I am the only person who can control this world.]**

_Great, this again; why did I have to have a nightmare about this?_ The plaza stretched out around me, filled with faceless players except a few familiar faces, from the beta test. The silent horror engulfed me again as they all turned to face me and the beta testers, swarming us like the monsters that roam the fields of Aincrad.

**[I think that most of you have discovered the fact that the [Log Out] button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug; it is a feature of «Sword Art Online»]**

_Why do I have this dream every time I shut my eyes? This is what, the fourth time tonight?_ I found myself buried beneath a violent maelstrom of fists, feet, and faceless bodies. My legs stopped working, just like they had after that accident. My screams died in my throat as I found it impossible to breathe under the enormous weight of the thousands of faceless players pummeling me and each other.

**[Until you get to the top of this castle, you will not be able to log out...in addition the disruption or dismantling of the Nerve Gear from the outside is strictly forbidden. If these things are attempted...]**

_We will die._ They relent, as always, and I feel as though I'm falling. Then I see that statue from the plaza floating in the air higher and higher...and realize I am. The horde of players above me falls after me, flailing their limbs in a pointless attempt to catch up to me.

**[...the signal sensors in your Nerve Gear will emit a strong electromagnetic pulse, destroying your brain and stopping all of your basic functions.]**

_Then came the bit with the mirrors...that cruel, sick monster's way of giving us our faces back as some kind of gift after doing all that to us._ One by one they all shatter into tiny little blue polygons of data. One by one they all die.

**[You will all most probably be wondering, 'Why?' Why am I - the creator of the Nerve Gear and SAO, Kayaba Akihiko- doing something like this? Is this a sort of terrorist attack? Is he doing this to ransom us?]**

_Even then, I didn't think of you as the type. No one would waste so much time, effort, and money just for that. Not even terrorists._ I see the beta testers die next. It hurts more than the rest when a young teenaged girl with whiskers painted on her face shatters mere feet away.

**[None of these is the reason I am doing this. Not only that. Now, for me, there is no longer a reason or a purpose in doing this. That is because... this situation itself was my purpose in doing this. To create and watch this world is the only reason I have created the Nerve Gear and SAO. And now, everything has been realized.]**

_Yeah, and now all I want to do is shatter it. I can't believe I let you kill so many already. Crazed monster – no, I can't just call you that. It's a disgrace to even you. There's something more to this, some point you're making through all this._ I am left alone in this pit of eternal darkness, falling and falling and falling for what seems an eternity.

**[...Now, I have finished the official tutorial for «Sword Art Online». Players- I wish you luck.]**

_You just wanted to remind us all that the internet isn't where we go to hide who we are…it's where we can truly be ourselves. Is that it, Kayaba? That's kind of sad if it's really the case. You didn't need to make it a death game if that's all you wanted to do. You just had to trap us here. So why kill us, Kayaba? _My dream fades into reality as I, too, shatter into blue polygons and finally, finally, finally die. _Why?_

* * *

November 7th, 2022

I woke with a start, one name echoing through my mind: Kayaba Akihiko. The man who trapped 10,000 people in this death game, responsible for so many suicides and deaths that had occurred in the first month alone, who deserved hatred, but for whom I ended up only pitying. After all, he had gone to such great lengths to trap 10,000 people in a sick and twisted world he made himself. If anything, he was probably lonely, or else actually a madman. But somehow, I can't imagine a psychopath going to such great lengths. No, Kayaba is just a lonely and misunderstood genius who wanted people to have an emotional bond with him. Even if it was only hatred. _But why must we die?_

Third Person POV:

The second day of Sword Art Online started out with a sickening reminder that his life was on the line, as many more would for almost every one of the player. He was a relatively quiet boy in his late teens. He had slept in till noon and was now approaching the edge of «Medai», a small fishing village on the first floor that was located between the eastern mountains and the lake region. He had come here as soon as that nightmarish tutorial was over, grinding the first day away till dawn as his sleeping habits began to be shifted more nocturnally. His name, or rather his username, was Ryzo.

There were few others in «Medai»; it was a rather little known village still, since the death game had only begun just one day ago, but even the other beta testers seemed to have avoided it for the most part. Those who had come numbered twelve at most. Ryzo stood out from among them like an eagle among pigeons. He had snowy white hair that reached his shoulders in length which was tied back in a short ponytail. He wore with basic gear they had all begun the game with, a dark red shirt and pants and tough looking black boots. At his right side hung an «Iron Dagger» that he'd gotten as a rare drop on his way to the village on day one. This was the day he intended to reach level three and his top goal for the time being: the unarmed skill «Taekwondo». He had used the skill in the beta, so he knew that of the unarmed skills it was the easiest to gain and the best for the start of the game. It was also the only one that he could use and still keep a weapon in hand for.

"Hey, that guy..." "Isn't he the one who's been...?" "...the white haired solo player." Such were the comments that drifted to Ryzo's ears. It was to be expected. He was a ferocious and deadly fighter in the beta and had become even more so now that his real life was on the line. The snowy white haired teen clearly had some sort of martial arts training and a lot of actual fighting experience. In a game like Sword Art Online such things were as good as cheat codes on the first floor.

At the moment Ryzo was making his way towards the eastern mountains, where he had been fighting against as many «Ruin Kobold Scouts» as possibly ever since he had arrived in «Medai» the previous day. A few of the other players had followed his lead, but none of the dozen or so others who had so far reached the small fishing village had even attempted to go solo. All were of the same mind though. Each and every beta tester was trying to ease the guilt they felt. Unreasonably felt guilt, at that. It wasn't their fault they hadn't realized Kayaba would do this, and knowing that made any guilt Ryzo might have felt dissipate like steam. A private message alert chimed and Ryzo expertly manipulated his menu to see who it was from. It was SAO's number one information broker…Argo «The Rat».

PM: SENDER: Argo /Where are you Ryzo?/

_Argo...should I respond?_ There were reasons not to. He didn't want the girl to feel any need nor obligation to him. She would do fine on her own. Ryzo hadn't gotten into the beta or gotten the game based on the avid joy she had spoken to him about it with during their time together in the months preceding the beta test. Yes, he knew the information broker from real life - a fact he kept closely guarded. He decided to respond, to tell her his thoughts, and to encourage her to find new friends to trust. He couldn't burden her with his steadfast need to regain the skills he had used in the beta test as quickly as possible. He had to for him to feel safe at night.

There were other reasons for it though, because he knew that if he didn't respond she would find out where he was and come to see him, thereby endangering her life unnecessarily. Another reason he had turned down her friend request before parting ways the day before. He hadn't told her he was leaving the city in the first place. He felt like what he was about to write would be made of partially of nonsensical lies, but it didn't bother him too much.

/Argo, I'm staying in «Medai» right now. I know you want to meet up, but I think it best to stay away from things for now, in my case at least. You find someone you trust and stick with them; you can't go it alone in this game. I'm not saying this because you're weak; I'm saying it because I don't trust some of the other betas to work for the benefit of anyone but themselves. Even you can't escape a well set MPK. Form or join a guild as soon as you can. I'll see you some other time. Right now I need to get stronger. I've almost got «Taekwondo», and then it's just a matter of time till I get «Martial Arts». You're like a little sister to me, Argo. I don't want to see you get hurt. As soon as the second floor is reached, I'll be able to get what I want and then I'll gladly party up or friend you, okay? Just know that I think it best for you to do things your own way. I can't bring myself to drag you around with me, nor would you find it easy to have me around all the time. Partying together was fun in the beta, yes, but neither of us wanted to do it all that often after the first week. Now it is important to find people who you do want to stick around with more than to worry over me. You shouldn't. You know how capable a fighter I am. I just hope Kayaba didn't up and move the «Martial Arts» skill on me. ^_^ Good luck, and don't forget to write. ~R./

/Baka! Why would you be a burden?! Look, Ryzo, I know I can't change your mind about this, so...at least promise you will do the same. Please. Find someone you can trust your life to. I'll find someone I know from the beta, someone who I really trust, like I trust you, and stick with him. Maybe you've heard about him. Kirito, that's his username. I call him Ki-bou~ though. It's really fun to tease him. ^_^ Stay safe, okay? I'll see you around, Ryzo. ~ A./

Ryzo chuckled at Argo's rapid reply. He had spent a full ten minutes crafting his reply, walking slowly and typing it out as he went, and yet she could read and write a response to it in such a short amount of time...

/I will. Thanks for the concern Argo. Oh, and one last thing. Don't tell anyone about our connection! Even if they pay you all the col in the world!/

Ryzo hit the send button. Argo never sent a reply to that particular message, but she didn't have to. He knew that she would always agree with him on that till the day they died. That, he hoped, wouldn't be anytime soon.

Ryzo made his way up the rugged rocky mountainside. Eventually, a pack of «Wolves» surrounded him. The teen's pale blue eyes looked for a route of escape, but saw none. _This is bad._ It was a battle that had to be fought. _At least I know this'll get me to level three_ Ryzo thought to himself as he sized up the mobs pacing around him. He looked at them and calmly drew the «Iron Dagger» with his right hand, leaving his left up and ready to grab hold of whichever one came at him first. _This won't be too hard._ The first of the «Wolves» charged in, receiving a slash to the face with the dagger and then a series of rapid, successive stabs from it into a weak point on its right shoulder as Ryzo fought to hold its jaws shut with his free hand. As it shattered into polygons of blue light he remembered his nightmare. In that split second of hesitation he almost died. A wolf came from his left, snarling angrily and trying to avenge its fallen brother.

"Don't think I'm that easy a target!" Ryzo shouted as he struck the beast mob down with a single well-placed «Thrust», a basic skill for any dagger users. He was unable to move for a precious split second, but no wolves attacked him, miraculously. There were four more of the wolves left at that point when an «Alpha Wolf» appeared. Ryzo took up a defensive stance, ready to fight the higher level mob off. To say that he was pleasantly surprised to find its health had already been depleted considerably by someone or something else. He hoped it wasn't another player. If it had been, why did this wolf survive? Ryzo could only think of avenging this unknown fallen comrade and immediately charged forward, finding himself charging up a «Thrust» while running at the rather fierce looking mob. It fell in an instant, and in the moment he was unable to move the other four wolves rushed at him. If he hadn't chosen «Acrobatics» as his second skill, Ryzo doubted that he would have escaped that situation with his life. He swiftly scaled up the nearest rocky wall, falling on the confused wolves with a new sword skill active: «Feather Swift». He took advantage of the dagger's speed and low cool down times to dispatch the wolves while falling, launching the sword skill at their weak points repeatedly to weaken them and then spinning in a circle with the blade as he landed in their midst. One had hung back and leapt at him with its jaws wide, arcing through the air at his throat. Reacting entirely on instinct, Ryzo spun around into a roundhouse kick that sent the wolf flying into a tree a few feet away. It got up and Ryzo began to move about in a circle, the last «Wolf» mob doing the same across from him. His health had dropped considerably without his noticing. The mobs had been biting at him during that spin move and likely while he was finishing the «Alpha Wolf». The white haired teen ran at the mob with a ferocious, bestial battle cry that startled all the beta testers in and around «Medai». With one last clash Ryzo was left in the red. The last enemy was dead now though. He pulled a health potion from a loop on his belt and drank it slowly, letting it heal him gradually. The post-battle windows popped up.

-Congratulations! Level Up!-

You are now -Level 3-

~New Skill Unlocked: Extra Skill «Taekwondo»~

Ryzo smiled and put the three bonus points for leveling up into his AGI. He looked at his skills menu with a satisfied smile as his health finally reached full on the third potion. _Now not even those wolves can give me any problems._ Ryzo continued to grind for the remainder of the day, closing in on reaching level 4 by the time he went back to «Medai» at sunset. Yesterday he had spent so much time running from «Wolves» and stalking lone «Ruin Kobold Scouts», but now he'd gained two levels relatively easily. He went to sleep satisfied and took his time leveling over the coming few weeks, getting to level seven on the eve of the two week anniversary of the death game's opening ceremonies. That was when he received a certain message from a cheeky information broker.

* * *

November 18th, 2022

/Hey. Remember that guy I mentioned? Kirito, in case you forgot already. He's holding a meeting about the first floor boss in the next few days just outside of the Starting City, if you're interested. Best hide your peculiar skills and knowledge though. Quite a lot of hate for betas going on here right now. I'll send you the location later. I'm going to go meet with him now. Ki-bou's such a serious person, but he's just so adorable every so often! I can't get enough of the look on his face!/

Ryzo smiled at this message, picturing Argo giggling with her whisker face-paint seeming to come alive, twitching like real whiskers with the movements of her face. He sat on the rickety wooden chair he had sat at every day this week during breaks in his grinding for sleep. He hadn't had a real break since he had started, and taking a week to wrap his head around things and get to know some of their other betas and proactive newbies that had reached «Medai» besides him seemed important. He had promised Argo he would find someone he could trust his life to, after all. Ryzo's pale blue eyes focused on the virtual keyboard, his fingers tapping out a response as quickly as they could.

/If I do come, don't look around for me. I'll probably just watch to see what happens. If someone starts saying stupid things though, I may have to shut them up. Thanks for the concern, Argo, and for the warning. I'll keep my guard up, don't worry. Good luck./

Ryzo decided, after sending that, to at least head back there to join up with the frontline and make himself more visible was now mandatory. Knowing Argo, she always found a way to get back at him for not heeding her call. Plus, since there were likely a good number of other players who would attend, he could gradually gain good friends, maybe even form a guild. Then he could do what he really wanted to do more than anything. Help. Even if he only ended up teaching newbies who wanted to learn. On his way out of town he picked up a free guidebook. Sure, he had been in the beta, but information was a valuable weapon. He was pleasantly surprised to find the extensive combat section in the player made book.

* * *

The Meeting, November, 2022.

Pale blue eyes danced lazily around the gathering place, counting up the various people who had come to this supposed 'First Boss Information Session'. Though, considering Argo had told him about it, the odds of this being anything less than absolutely on the level were practically nil. Ryzo counted up forty-two, excluding himself. Judging by the hushed conversations that were taking place throughout the gathered groups the players all averaged out to levels 5 and 6, one level lower than he himself. That guidebook had been a big help for a good number of them, it seemed. During the beta, Ryzo's time had been devoted mostly to the pursuit of finding and unlocking every unarmed skill. Since the mastery level transferred between them, he could simply unlock them, switch back to «Taekwondo» and then change it up as he pleased. As such, he hadn't devoted much time to exploring Aincrad or finding the best spots for grinding, things like that. So, it wasn't all that surprising that he had overlooked this beautiful spot that existed only a short, scenic walk away from the starting city. The players were lounging on rocks and logs scattered around on the ground in the shade of a large tree that had served as the landmark they all looked for when leaving the safety of the city to attend this 'information session'. A small area was left empty, save two figures. One, an effeminate boy with dark hair and the other was the infamous Argo. Ryzo figured that the boy was the one she had told him about, Kirito. The boy was being bold, given all the beta-hating Argo had told him about. He didn't seem to be intending to hide his status as a beta tester considering that only a beta tester could have intel on the first boss. Ten minutes past the appointed time Argo elbowed Kirito in the side. Ryzo suppressed a grin at this sight. The effeminate boy stood, slightly adjusting the sword on his back. Despite his nervous exterior, Ryzo could FEEL an aura of inner strength and confidence that came from the younger boy. Something about him was...familiar. The black haired swordsman coughed once, quietly.

"Alright then, thank you for coming to this informational session," Kirito began, pausing to make sure that he had everyone's attention. Ryzo looked around and found that there were a good number of surprised faces amongst the crowd. Some recognized the boy's name, he could tell, but they put on neutral masked expressions, neither happy nor discouraged by Kirito's presence. "My name is Kirito," which told Ryzo that he had assumed correctly, "I'm pretty sure none of you know me, but that has nothing to do with why we're all here today. This is a meeting to talk about how to bring down the first floor boss." Kirito stopped again and was interrupted immediately by a rude and arrogant sounding player with a cactus shaped hair style.

"Oi, who the hell do you think you are? I've never seen you on the front lines!" The arrogant oddly hair-styled teen was sitting front and center, right in front of Kirito and Argo. Kirito seemed to be considering how to respond to this kind of reaction. Ryzo decided to say something first.

"Shut it, cactus head. Who cares who he thinks he is so long as he has intel? Plus, you should know who Argo is by now, so if she trusts him, why the hell can't you?!" Ryzo shouted, and it was clear that he had said it since he was the only other person standing. He had stayed on the edge of the clearing since arriving quietly. He was easily angered however, and now it played to his advantage. It kept things from deteriorating further by shutting up the cactus head idiot. Kirito gave him a surprised yet grateful look. Argo simply grinned in his direction for a moment. _Guess I did what I said I would, ne, Argo?_

"Wha-" The cactus head was interrupted in his response to Ryzo by a large black man with a huge battleax on his back. He shook his head no and the teen scowled but closed his mouth. It seemed a large number of those present agreed with the man as any other attempts to protest were slowly and quietly overwhelmed over the course of several minutes. Argo gave Ryzo a grateful and pride-filled glance before elbowing Kirito in the leg to stir him back into action.

"So, moving on, the first boss, it's called «Illfang the Kobold Lord». Its main weapon is a Tulwar. It has four health bars. Given that it's a «Kobold» type mob and a boss, it shouldn't surprise any of you to know that it has the ability to summon «Kobold Sentinels». It will use this power each time one of its health bars depletes. I would recommend three people per «Sentinel», considering the large health pool they have." Kirito paused, waiting for the players to not only hear the information, but also to understand and memorize it. This was vital intel if they wanted to stay alive. Ryzo appreciated the thought put into all this. Kirito was a natural born leader judging by his performance so far. "Now, once the last health bar is depleted almost entirely, «Illfang» will enter a second phase where it uses large AoE attacks and moves much faster than before. This part has to be taken slowly and carefully. A direct hit will likely be fatal."

"Question." Ryzo looked around, spotting a blue haired man who looked far too good to be a hardcore gamer. Something struck him as decidedly wrong about the player. "I'm sorry for doubting you on this, but how can we trust this information?" Ryzo realized where this was going. Only a hated beta tester could know this stuff, so either he was one, or Argo was. Ryzo knew both were, given what Argo had mentioned about the dark haired teen in the center.

"I'm a beta tester." Kirito said it without hesitation. Ryzo admired that courage, but he couldn't help but wonder just what this would bring. He felt that something incredibly stupid and shortsighted was going to go down any second.

"You bastard!" Again, the arrogant cactus head from earlier stood up, this time along with several others. "I can't listen to anything this guy says!" Ryzo saw Kirito pull a subtle grimace, silently agreeing with the young swordsman's unspoken sentiments.

"Well, that's just great..." the white-haired player mumbled. What should have been a peaceful meeting was now deteriorating into hatred and chaos. Ryzo's eyes flickered to the blue haired player who had instigated this whole thing. The blank expression on his face, neither approving nor disapproving Kirito's statement confirmed his suspicions. _That guy is planning something._

"How can we trust a guy that abandoned us and got so far ahead?! Look at his gear, it's probably way better than ours!" The cactus head's stupid pointless anger and resentment lit a spark in Ryzo.

_You only just noticed that...? Pathetic. _Ryzo began to growl, and those around him were intimidated by the bestial sound coming from him. It sounded like something from a monster rather than a teenager. Ryzo's eyes had a dark look that would have made some kind of aura of darkness suddenly appearing around him totally believable.

"Who knows how high his level is!"

"He must have been keeping all the best areas for his own use!"

"He left us to fend for ourselves while he took the easy ways to level up!"

"Selfish bastards, I can't work with people like you! Beater!"

"BEATER SCUM! Go die!"

**"WILL YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP AND LET THE GUY TALK?!"** Ryzo suddenly yelled out, his voice sounding like some kind of monstrous roar. Kirito nodded his thanks, finally having a moment to talk. A few minutes past silently before Kirito spoke again.

"So, you guys hate beta testers because you think we're better off in this game than you?" Kirito received glares and nods from the cactus head and his cohorts. "I have to say it. That's pathetic." Ryzo quirked and eyebrow at this, but noting how Argo had stood up silently and was now standing very close to the boy for some form of comfort, he didn't pass judgment just yet. "You're acting like a bunch of kids caught with your hands in a cookie jar. Pointing fingers at whoever it's easiest to blame...it's sickening. Grow up. Do you ever think about how many beta testers could actually survive going solo like I have? I bet not. Out of all the 1000, about half probably had previous MMO experience. And of those, far less would be good enough to survive SAO on their own. There's probably a good number of beta testers here, trying to survive just as hard as you are. In fact, from that 1000, every single one got a copy of this game. I wonder...how many names I could recognize crossed out on that cold black rock in town with the word 'suicide' written next to it. Quite a few, I'd imagine. And the number seems to be growing each day. So go ahead, blame the beta testers for 'not helping you' or 'not helping newbies' or stopping those people who jumped. Just keep in mind that that isn't entirely true." A severely subdued protest came from the players who were against Kirito and beta testers. Kirito sighed and then continued to speak, loud enough to drown them out.

"You've all received this guidebook, free, from the NPC stalls, right?" Kirito swept his eyes over the gathered players, making sure he had all of their attentions. He held up a copy of the guidebook, which had provided a wide variety of information on the first floor, the game mechanics, and a sizable and very detailed section on SAO's combat system. "This was written entirely by beta testers. I, myself, actually wrote the combat portion." A stunned silence fell over the crowd. Ryzo noticed a number of those neutral expressions slip for a brief moment as Kirito made eye contact with most of the players Ryzo suspected of being beta testers.

"So, even if you hate us so-called 'beaters', I hope to see at least some of you here next week. We have the same goal, to take down the first floor boss. Then the second floor boss. All the way up to the «Final Boss». If you can grow up a little, I hope to see you here next week. Those of you who can...I look forward to working with you. For the rest of you…well, we'll just have to clear it without you." Kirito finished with a very serious expression on his face. The lack of any more words coming from the teen signified that the meeting was over. As the players quickly dispersed, some no doubt to reconsider their stances on the beta testers. After a moment the black clothed swordsman suddenly dropped his gaze, as though he had just realized that the players he'd been...well, scolding, for lack of a better word, were at least a few years older than him on average. Ryzo approached as Argo began lightly clapping looking at Kirito with awe on her face. Then the two began conversing with two other girls, one with pink hair and another that seemed a bit too young to be in this world. Not wanting to intrude, Ryzo took his leave to wander the merchant district in search of a good merchant.

* * *

"Buy cheap, sell cheap! That's my motto!" claimed the large, muscular black man before him. Ryzo paled at the thought of this man being a hardcore gamer. Keeping THAT fit, managing a job, and gaming just didn't seem possible to him. His words weren't directed at them, more at the general populace. Ryzo hadn't gone looking for a player merchant, he truly hadn't. What he found, regardless of what he intended, was Agil, the large man of African-American descent who had been one of those that helped quiet down the initial opposition at Kirito's information session. Ryzo remembered that he had kept the cactus head in line after Ryzo had told the guy to shut up the first time. The man's motto caught Ryzo's interest.

"You were at the meeting. Guess that must mean you've got a good selection of wares. Any daggers?" Ryzo walked up to the intimidatingly muscular man and tried to keep an upbeat look on his face as he himself was being sized up.

"I do, I do. You were the one who started yelling at those idiots earlier. You've got guts and spirit kid, I'll give you that. I'm Agil. It's a pleasure to meet you." Agil held out a hand. Ryzo took it and shook it firmly; glad he had put his points into his STR and AGI stats equally thus far. "See that grouping of tables back there? Head right on over, I'll be along shortly. It looks like a few more customers are coming."

"Will do. Thank you, Agil." Ryzo walked over to the grouping of tables covered in armors, swords, spears, axes, potions, and yes, daggers. Ryzo began to carefully examine each dagger, investigating the individual stats by bringing up the item window. He didn't pick any up, nor did any catch his eye yet, but he froze as he overheard the conversation between Agil and his next group of customers start.

"Kirito, when I told you to relax, I didn't mean it like this...seriously, this could get you killed." the bald, muscular man muttered instead of a greeting.

"Eto...anyways, Agil, could you help me out with something?" Kirito rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Oh, you need my help, eh, Kirito? Sure. Anything I can do to help such a good customer." Agil laughed a bit at his own words, confusing the five who were only just meeting him greatly. Ryzo went back to busily study the daggers, feeling Argo's eyes boring a hole into him. The information broker couldn't have NOT noticed him. Ryzo would have to watch his words.

"Well, these three need to get some new gear. Silica's the only one in need of a full set. The other two just need better armor." It was definitely Kirito. Even though he had heard Agil say the name, he had hoped he was simply mishearing him and that the feeling of Argo's eyes on his back was just a hallucination.

"Alright, come right this way ladies!" Agil led the way over to the small grouping of tables.

"Don't mind us, Ryzo." Argo muttered to him as she passed by, looking for a weapon herself. A second set of footsteps approached him from the same direction.

"Excuse me, but…you are him. The guy from the meeting earlier who yelled at that weird cactus head. I wanted to thank you for that." Kirito was suddenly at his side. Ryzo figured he had been trying to get to the table past the one with the daggers, which had one-handed swords and throwing weapons. Ryzo turned his pale blue eyes to the younger teen, his hopes of going relatively unnoticed dashed. With his snowy-white hair, how could he be mistaken for someone else though?

"Oh, no, it was no big deal. I have a short temper and I tend to blow up at idiots." Ryzo heard a loud crash and turned to see Silica on the ground pouting with a pile of heavy red armor in front of her and Lisbeth consoling her. Ryzo turned back to the table of daggers chuckling. He picked one up that had finally caught his eye. It had a crimson blade on each end of the hilt. A «Dragon's Talon» if he ever saw one, that was certain. Kirito apparently knew about this weapon too.

"Ooh…you've got a good eye for daggers. That's the...«Dragon's Talon» if I remember correctly. An extremely rare drop from the «Frenzy Boar», but a higher leveled version is supposed to be available on later floors once dragon-type mobs start showing up." Kirito's detailed information startled Ryzo so much that he almost jumped.

"Man, you know a lot about this game, Kirito. You...well, it's obvious that you startled me, huh? No point in saying it." Kirito raised an eyebrow as his smile showed up. Ryzo's odd sensibilities, like starting to say something obvious, then stopping and commenting on the fact, always had made his male friends laugh and any women flat out hate him. He suspected Kirito, Agil, and Argo were the only reasons the other girls hadn't been repulsed by his presence. That and their shopping seemed to be taking up a lot of their attention. However, what Ryzo was distracted by was the fact that he had picked up a fourth girl along the way between the meeting and coming here. "You really do have some harem aura thing going for you though...oh, sorry, I meant royal. You have the air of a prince about you. Some princes have harems and all; that was the connection I made there."

"E-eh?" Kirito looked at Ryzo, very confused. That look made something click in Ryzo's memory, though he regretted phrasing his last sentence the way he had. No, scratch that, he knew that he shouldn't have just said something like that to someone he barely knew.

"Are you, by any chance, a martial artist? Perhaps you are a kendo practitioner…dual wielding maybe even?" Ryzo's questions caused further and further furrows on Kirito's brow to crease as the boy's eyebrows slowly rose up and up and up at the sudden and abrupt shift in conversation topic. "No need to worry, I'm just wondering where I've seen you before. Two years ago, mixed martial arts regional championship, were you facing off against a practitioner of the Ryuu no Nagareru style?" Kirito's eyes gleamed with understanding.

"So then you're..." Kirito had a look of surprise in his eyes after a moment though as Ryzo shook his head 'no', though he was clearly happy to have finally placed where he had seen Kirito before. He had met the boy only once, if you could even call it meeting, two years prior, in his final martial arts competition before the accident. It had been a great match to see, a student of the Ryuu no Nagareru style facing off against a prodigy of dual blade kendo. The match had been very close, but the kendo prodigy had won after an hour of constant dodges, parries, and blocked attacks. The only thing his opponent had lacked in was experience. In martial arts, age doesn't matter. Experience and mastery does. However, Ryzo hadn't been the one to fight Kirito that year. He had participated in and won the division level above the young kendo prodigy. Ryzo had seen the match though.

"No, I was in the higher level division. That was the student just below me in the school who fought you. Once we clear this game, we'll have to find some way to have a VR match, see how you and I match up. I can't exactly fight any more in the real world, but a VR match is possible. I'll assume you've heard what happened after the tournament, everyone who took part was supposed to be notified...anyways, that match. Sound good?" Ryzo held out a hand to shake, to seal the deal. To get to face off against someone even stronger than the toughest opponent he'd ever faced…that thought seemed to excite the black-haired swordsman.

"Neither of us can die until then, got it?" Kirito was definitely excited about it. He shook the hand, and the two martial artists broke out into friendly banter about the match and about the weapons on the table, though Ryzo was set on the «Dragon's Talon» it seemed. They heard a commotion further back and turned to see Argo in a heated argument with Agil over something. After moving a bit closer Ryzo found that it was over the claw weapons she preferred. Agil didn't have any apparently.

"Ah...excuse me?" Asuna interrupted them, and Agil immediately went from an angry and intimidating merchant to a calm and helpful one. Argo got under everyone's skin it seemed, when she wanted to.

"Oh, are you ready to check out?" Agil eagerly set about ringing up the girl's choices with Kirito's money. Ryzo returned his attention to the daggers, remembering using a few during the beta. The «Dragon's Talon» had been one such dagger, the last one he'd used. It fit his brutal style of fighting mobs very well. The martial art he practiced, Ryuu no Nagareru, had two sides to it: the competitive version, far less deadly and violent, and the original version, which was created to fight large numbers of attackers and kill them. After the other five had left Agil turned his attention to the odd white haired customer. He didn't know what to make of Ryzo, but the guy seemed to get along well with Kirito considering that he had witnessed the white-haired teen accept the black-haired swordsman's friend request, and the girls had sent him one after seeing how well the two got along as well. Since he wasn't going with them though, it made sense that he was probably going to be grinding on his own. Agil had been at the meeting earlier, and as he had mentioned earlier, he remembered that this particular player had been the one to flip his top on everyone who was acting like children. Agil had been glad someone was there to do it, but Ryzo had been giving off a pretty dangerous air at the time. Agil was worried for the teen. "Eto...are you ready to check out?"

"Yeah, I'll be buying this «Dragon's Talon», if that's all right with you." Ryzo held up the dual bladed dagger for Agil to see. The merchant opened up a transaction window.

"That'll run you 800 col, just so you know." Agil looked at Ryzo, wondering how he'd handle such a price. For the first floor, that was pretty expensive.

"For a «Dragon's Talon»? That's pretty cheap. You really do stick to your motto." Ryzo immediately agreed to the transaction before Agil could change his mind about the pricing. Being a solo-player who sold most of the drops he got to NPC merchants in a higher level town than the Starting City, Ryzo had plenty of money. "Thanks, Agil. Have a nice day. See you next week?" Ryzo had phrased that last bit as a question. The merchant nodded, smiling at the dagger user. Ryzo left the storefront with a wave and Agil moved on to deal with a few other clearers who had shown up to 'buy cheap and sell cheap'.

* * *

"Thank you." Ryzo quirked an eyebrow; _was that a feminine voice with a foreign accent?_ He wasn't surprised, though. Pretty girls, especially foreigners, attracted a lot of attention in Japan normally. If one was found inside a game world with a bunch of hopeless nerds, well…hiding one's identity would be perfectly reasonable.

"You're welcome. How long have you been out here? Better yet, miss, what level are you?" Ryzo's questioning was met with hostility. The girl cautiously raised her weapons, taking a step back from Ryzo.

"Why do you ask?" The hostile tone the girl had used caused Ryzo to sigh inwardly.

"I ask because this is a level three field. These boars are all level three. I'm level seven. Sorry if I frightened you, miss. I just wanted to make sure you weren't in over your head out here." Ryzo's explanation and unexpectedly kind intentions, since most males simply wanted eye candy to ease the pain of the situation these days, relieved the girl.

"Level...three? I'm only level two, but that explains why they were so tough to kill." The girl had neglected to mention how long she'd been at it, but Ryzo could estimate that it had been a few hours at least. He opened up his menu and initiated a one-sided trade with the female player, giving her some of his surplus healing potion. "W-wait, what are you doing?!"

"Women shouldn't have to fight for their lives. No one should. You didn't deserve to be put into this situation, and I also personally hold any woman with self-respect as deserving of kindness and respect from those around her. Therefore, I am giving you these extra potions I have. I got them in case I came across someone who needed one in the first place." Ryzo waited until the cloaked player hesitantly accepted the trade, immediately using one of the ten potions to restore her health. "How's about we party up until you can fight these guys off on your own, okay?"

"Are you sure? I don't want to hold you back."

"Well, I'll be the one holding you back if we actually party up...how about I just hurt them really good and then you finish them off, okay? No need for an actual party and then we both get the normal amount of experience points." Ryzo's suggestion was met with a pair of grateful reddish-brown eyes. The two worked as he had described for a few hours, leading to the girl reaching level four. As the sun began to set they parted ways and Ryzo got down to business for real. The girl turned back to watch him from the city limits for several minutes, temporarily entranced by the sight of Ryzo carving through the «Frenzy Boar» with his «Dagger» and «Taekwondo» attacks. It was a multicolored show of light in the growing darkness, leaving a trail of blue polygons that faded into the air in its wake. The sword skills he was using had practically zero immobility time after use, resulting in his nonstop ravaging of the «Frenzy Boar» mobs in the field. The area was large enough that the respawn rate was faster than his kill speed, but the amount of EXP he was gradually racking up was minor as a side-effect. He'd be lucky to reach level eleven by the end of the week. He'd have to do this for at least ten hours a day for the next week to reach at least level ten, possibly eleven, and that would take a lot of mental strength.

* * *

The next day the cloaked girl, who had introduced herself as Kira, returned to the field about noon to find Ryzo at it again. She watched him for a few minutes before realizing that there was a portion of the field he had left untouched, just for her. She felt very touched by the gesture and took advantage of the small amount of «Frenzy Boar» in the section left to her. Kira's slower speed resulted in her not needing to worry about the respawn rate taking too long in her case, and the two kept grinding constantly till sundown. Once more they parted ways. Ryzo had reached level eight, much to his satisfaction. Ryzo's build was an equal distribution of the bonus points between STR and AGI, resulting in him currently having a balance of 37 STR and 36 AGI. The two chatted for a bit, and Ryzo found that the girl wasn't easily put off from her new friend by his way of speaking. Of course, not having anyone to make fun of might have had something to do with it.

"You really are incredible at fighting." Kira's words brought a light flush to Ryzo's face, her accent from the day before barely noticeable. It had been a few years since anyone had complimented his fighting. During the beta, the closest he'd ever gotten to one was being called a true 'monster'.

"Thanks. You're not so bad yourself. You'll get pretty good one day. You hoping to join the front lines?" Ryzo had been wondering about the girl's intentions since the previous day. She was a late starting newbie, so if she had heard about the meeting yesterday he wasn't too sure she'd reach the levels she needed to in time for the first boss fight. It wasn't like he wanted to discourage her, but he wasn't so sure she'd be able to do much good in the tough battle to take place in less than a week's time.

"Maybe not on this boss fight, but the next, I hope. After all, that Kirito guy's going to lead the first fight to victory, right?" Kira's words surprised Ryzo. He hadn't seen anyone cloaked at the meeting, and if he had seen a girl with a sword and an axe equipped he was certain that he would have remembered it. Though with all the commotion, he could have missed her.

"Yeah, he is supposed to lead us to victory. Well, it's getting dark, so I'm going to call it a night." Ryzo got up from the spot just outside the city that the two had sat down at and went in. Kira sat there for a while, picturing that ferocious fighting style of Ryzo's.

"Like a dragon...deadly and ferocious, yet beautiful," Kira muttered to herself before getting up and heading into town to the inn that she had been staying in these past few weeks.

* * *

A week passed like that, with the two barely saying a word to the other after that day.

* * *

December 4, 2022-The First Boss Fight

The final meeting for the first boss battle was tense. A lot of players held some resentment against Kirito for his words the previous week. Left to stew over it...well, somehow that blue haired guy named Diabel, according to those supporting him, ended up in charge in the end. A lot of players were against this, but the majority sided with Diabel rather than Kirito. Kirito had accepted the decision rather than fight against it, to avoid any kind of rift forming in the group. Ryzo noticed that he'd had to quiet the small harem to keep a fight from breaking out. Ryzo couldn't help but think _I knew that blue haired fire-starter was up to something._ Ryzo also felt like he had changed, slightly. After spending a week constantly keeping another person's efforts in mind he was more aware of all the things around him, of all the players around him, and that was something that he found decidedly useful.

"I, as well as these groups, will be leading the charge against the boss, since in my opinion we are the best equipped groups. I of course will command the forces, being level 10." Diabel had several groups standing in the front of the boss raid party, comprised mostly of those who had sided with him. "As for the rest of you...take care of the «Sentinels»." Those who had remained opposed to Diabel's leadership were apparently cowed into acceptance by the player's level. Ryzo had managed to avoid getting into any party without anyone noticing. He would work better on his own in the fight than if he was constantly keeping an eye on only a few particular people. Diabel sounded the charge and left with the order to deal with the «Sentinels».

The initial wave of clearers, as planned, forced their way past the mobs while a few of the clearers rushed forward to deal with the three that had initially spawned. Kirito and Asuna took one in what would later be described by those who witnessed it as a perfect harmony of black and white. Ryzo paid it no heed, however, focusing all of his attention on the lizard-like «Kobold Sentinel» that he had taken on the far left. He vaguely registered the other three girls on the opposite side of the room tearing into the last enemy as he miraculously parried the sword skill of the «Sentinel's» two-handed mace. Ryzo assessed his opponent with a cold methodical stare.

"You have quite a few chinks in your armor, perfect for me, and your helmet isn't attached to your armor...double bonus." Yes, Ryzo spoke to the mindless AI mob he was about to kill this one instance. Ryzo began to execute a series of basic «Thrusts», which had zero immobility time afterwards. The main reason he preferred to use daggers in the first place. Ryzo immediately began to aim the blades of the «Dragon's Talon» into those armor chinks, tearing the «Sentinel» a new one. Then, having reduced the mobs' health to almost nothing through a series of weak critical hits, Ryzo flipped up over it, taking advantage of his growing «Acrobatics» skill. At level eleven, Ryzo had chosen to keep the «Dagger» skill and the «Acrobatics» skill and added «Sprint» in as his fourth skill, with «Taekwondo» being his third, obviously. The sword skill Ryzo was about to execute was a little know unarmed sword skill only usable if you had both «Taekwondo» and «Hand-To-Hand Combat» unlocked called «Eclipse End». Death from above would be a good, clean, and not too descriptive way of telling someone what the sword skill did. Here's a more in depth run through of what, exactly, Ryzo DID to that poor «Sentinel». And yes, the other players who were supposed to be rushing in to deal with the «Kobold Sentinels» pitied that particular one. Ryzo had effectively stolen the show with this move. As he flipped up and over the «Kobold Sentinel» he twisted in the air to land on its shoulders, crouching down to tightly grip the helmet with his knees as his legs began to glow black. His lower body suddenly twisted to the right, carrying his entire body weight after it and leading to him leaning back and dangling off its back before the head came clean off following some surprisingly sickening sounds. _Those weren't there in the beta...perhaps he wanted to discourage the use of this branch of sword skills._ The head hit the floor and turned into blue polygons that vanished into the air along with the rest of the mobs' body. Ryzo looked around to see a mixture of shock, disgust, fear, admiration (which scared him, to be honest), and confused awe at what he had just done.

"More «Sentinels»!" Everyone looked forward to see what Diabel was shouting about and saw at least twenty more of the armored «Kobold» type mobs heading their way. The rest of the clearers rushed forward, eager to show their stuff after seeing the show put on by Kirito and his girls and the rather sickening scene shown by Ryzo. As each party engaged a «Sentinel» Ryzo ran around among them, doing what could be considered the equivalent of a mixture of drive by doing his chinks in the armor routine and occasionally using «Eclipse End» on a mob when a party had ended up with two as they kept flowing in. The sheer number was making it almost like a war. Over time though the numbers decreased and Ryzo noticed that Kirito had run forward to save a near-dead Diabel. He had apparently begun giving the player a short sermon as his health slowly stopped at a mere sliver of red. Kirito had, in his rage at the other player's recklessness, forgotten the boss for a brief instant. In that instant both Ryzo and the boss closed in on the two players. Ryzo interrupted the boss's forceful attack with a giant nodachi by using the simple «Taekwondo» sword skill «Roundhouse Kick». He knocked the weapon aside then followed up with an «Ascension Kick», a «Taekwondo» sword skill only available with «Acrobatics». It had a knock-back effect, though against «Illfang» it hardly counted. He heard the harem and its prince stir to action behind him after a quick session of 'let's ignore the deadly boss in front of us to worry about the guy it almost killed and hate on him for endangering our perfect man'. They went at it like clockwork, Kirito taking the lead, Lisbeth stunning it and interrupting counters, Asuna and Argo dancing about like fairies, and Silica, tiny, young, weak looking Silica, taking on the role of a pseudo-tank for the party. Kirito danced about with the girls until a spinning move sent them flying. Agil put a hand on Ryzo's should and shouted at the rest of the players about letting a bunch of girls do all the fighting for them. Ryzo found himself serving as the stunner, using his «Taekwondo» attacks to interrupt or divert the boss in the midst of an attack. Agil helped out in that aspect quite a bit. The sight of all the players working in cohesion like that was inspiring. If they could record this battle on a crystal it would definitely move the hearts and minds of a multitude of the residents in the city. Suddenly they were all blown back again. Ryzo began to look at the other players. Despite hesitating to head back in, a good number were grinning slightly. _Though our lives are at stake, most of them are hardcore gamers after all. Even I have to admit...breaking that «Kobold Sentinel's» head off earlier was pretty satisfying._

"Asuna, Argo, let's go." A voice, a familiar voice, sounded to his left. Ryzo looked over and saw Kirito, Asuna, and Argo charging the boss and breaking out into what he would describe as a freaking hurricane of bloodied blades, gut spilling, and throat slitting madness. Others might prefer less violent terms, but Ryzo wasn't particularly shy about his speech to begin with. It shouldn't be a surprise that he described it completely differently, yet inherently the same. Lisbeth and Silica joined in at the end, leaving it up in the air as to which of the five had gotten the «Last-Attack Bonus». Ryzo and most of the players watched with admiration as the five opened the door to the next level, making their way up onto the stairs to the second floor. After about twenty minutes the rest of the players had recovered their health and congratulated themselves on their success at winning with zero casualties. Agil and Ryzo had been in the middle of a heated debate on the point of selling cheap to all players rather than just those who needed it. Agil wasn't entirely convinced, but as Ryzo projected the increased level requirements of the items the players would sell him increased Agil began to understand his point of expanding his clearing group clientele base. Ryzo had to excuse himself though, to deal with a PM from Argo.

/So, Ryzo-pin, I'm thinking of getting the girls to force Kirito into a guild with us. I suspect he intends to try and leave us high and adorable boy dry after we reach the top of this rather long staircase. So, I was wondering if you had any adjectives I could go with?/

Argo's habit of calling him by an affectionate nickname when she really needed his help set off alarm bells in his head. It was rare, but when she needed his help, she really needed his help. He began rapidly typing out a reply consisting entirely of names that came to mind.

/The «Monochrome Blades»

The «Sword Concerto»

The «Sword Crown»

The «Swords of Hope»

The «Eternal Blades»

The «Dawn Swords»

The «True Blades»

The «Regal Blades»

The «Heroic Blades»

The «Final Blades»

The «Light of Hope»/

And send. Ryzo immediately returned to his discussion with Agil and the two parted ways after a few more minutes. Ryzo turned to head up the stairs himself, having been informed by Argo that his list was useful, and not much else other than that the second floor has nice weather.

/Honestly, Argo, I was expecting some more high level information based upon your stature as the best in the business in this whole flying castle. Any hints as to whether «Martial Arts» has changed locations?/

/We haven't even reached «Urbus» yet, relax Ryzo. It'll be there. So few attempted it in the beta because of me, so Kayaba had little reason to move it, meaning it's still there. Probably thinks I'll share to save lives or something. I don't even know why you use such infuriating sword skills. Argo-chan out!~/

_Knew she'd do that eventually._ Ryzo sighed and resigned himself to the climb, as he would for the next few floors on a path towards tomorrow. Ryzo was struck with a philosophical thought similar to that last sentence, which was odd for him, but he shrugged it off and kept moving.

A/N: So, this came out as an amalgamation of my own original scenes and both some of the second and third chapters of ToumaFF's The Prince of Swords. It's as original and changed as I could manage, given my intention with this first chapter was to have a similar start as The Prince of Swords before taking off in an OC direction. I'm even planning on involving Agil a good deal more than he was in the canon, and also to use this connection to explain some things from the canon, such as why he really had a copy of ALFheim Online. That's WAY off in the future though. After writing and rewriting the chapter about two or three times, this is what I kept coming back to; a combination of The Prince of Swords and original moments. It was the only way to do it. Brutal fight scenes and more visuals on a certain OC are on the way. I hope you enjoy what comes next and can forgive me for writing a fan fiction of an SAO fan fiction instead of just making my own completely original work. Starting with the first words of the next chapter things will get far more original and go off in their own direction, borrowing very little of the things seen in The Prince of Swords. Even Kirito's guild will have a different name for the required presence in the front line related scenes I'll refer to it in.

Ryzo's stats as of the opening of the second floor:

Username: Ryzo

Level: 12

Stats: STR 53, AGI 56, DEF 38, VIT 38, DEX 38

Skills: «Dagger» Proficiency 50/1000, «Acrobatics» Proficiency 90/1000

Equipment: «Dragon's Talon», «Leather Armor»

I'll try to keep the stats updating up, don't hate me if I forget.


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sword Art Online, nor do I own The Prince of Swords (ToumaFF does). I do own Ryzo and Kira. And the little friend you'll meet in this chapter.

Enjoy.

Floor 4: Unknown Location.

"Ugh..." Ryzo tapped the alarm lightly with his finger, sitting up from the spot on deck he had set as his sleeping area. He folded up his blanket and dumped it on his pillow.

"Wonder who found me..." The alarm was set to go off if someone came towards his little hideaway. It was the only way to wake himself up, considering the little glitch in the sleeping system that made each player dead to the world unless it was a particularly light sleep or there was an alarm set by the player to wake them up at a set time or something like that.

"Well, well, well...looks like we woke you up, Ryzo." That deep booming voice was easily recognized. He had heard it maybe a hundred times so far. The melodic tones that followed were also somewhat well known to Ryzo.

"Did you have a pleasant dream?" Kira and Agil stood a few feet from him, having launched up out of a small rowboat onto his home away from the world. Kira's long red hair seemed to be a bit damp from the thick fog covering the area.

"So...what can I do for you two?" The floor shifted slightly under his feet every few seconds, rocking back and forth, back and forth. Ryzo stared at the determined girl standing before him beside Agil. How the two had found him, he might never have figured out. However, Ryzo was a close friend of the number one information broker, Argo «The Rat», and he suspected she had something to do with it. He also suspected that she had something to do with their being here.

"Get off the boat, Ryzo." Kira took a few steps towards him, her long red hair swishing through the air behind her. No one knew about this place or how to get here for those who had seen it through the fog constantly covering the area.

Ryzo stood there, watching them, thinking. The two had just told him to get off his ass and do something with himself. Not even a week ago he had just about gotten a party of newbies killed on the first floor. It had been too close for his liking; far too close. It brought up certain memories. Since then he hadn't set foot outside this retreat from the world that he'd managed to get his hands on.

"I'd rather not take a swim." Ryzo's boat, modeled after a Viking wolf-ship he'd seen in a movie one time, «The Black Dragon» sat in the center of a large lake covered in fog. Even if they had used the friend tracking they couldn't have found him without Argo's help. That was the irrefutable fact he kept coming back to. And she had every right to pull this stunt after everything that had happened between them in the real world. He couldn't blame her.

"You don't have much of a choice Ryzo." Agil spoke this time. Ryzo got up from the helm and opened the ship's menu to set the anchor. He had to go ashore once again it seemed.

"Alright, alright, I give, I give." Even though he had just found some nice quiet solace in this deadly nightmarish world…of course, not even «The Black Dragon» could save him from his nightmares. No, those would never go away no matter what he tried.

"Get in the row boat." Ryzo reluctantly got into the smaller row boat the other two had come in before the two followed suit, Kira wrapping her arms around him from behind, claiming it was to comfort him, but really just intending to keep him from bolting back onto his ship. Agil rowed the small boat back towards the shore only to realize that he had been rowing in circles for some time now. Eventually Ryzo took over and rowed straight to a small dock within minutes.

"Honestly, I don't know how you steered this thing out to «The Black Dragon»." Being the property owner, he had the benefit of being able to see through the fog. It was a little known fact, but all of Aincrad's lakes were very cheap properties that a bunch of people can own at once through the use of houseboats. Ryzo, it seemed, was the only one who knew how to do this so far. Not even Argo knew, or rather, he suspected she didn't want to know. He knew she was afraid of dogs, so it wasn't too impossible for her to be afraid of large bodies of water, though the relation between the two was very vague.

"Now then Ryzo, back to the second floor we go. If you aren't going to do anything anyways, then the front lines aren't the place for you." Ryzo found himself being steered towards the nearest town, «Inanis», so the three of them could use the teleport gate. On the way Kira forcibly made him accept a party invite from the two of them to ensure he couldn't escape. After his sporadic partying with front liners over the past few weeks, it seemed his reputation for his quick escapes was catching up to him.

Floor 2: Christmas Eve, 11:30 PM. «Urbus».

"Sorry I'm late." Ryzo had arrived. It was a Christmas Party being held by a few close friends (other than Argo) - namely Agil and Kira. Agil had taken Kira under his wing the past few floors as his assistant and she'd become like a daughter to him, and in the same respect he became like a father to her.

After being forced off his boat Ryzo had learned a bit more about the two, or rather, about their real lives. Why they wanted to share this with him, he didn't know. Agil and his wife apparently ran a shop in the real world, a little bistro called the «Dicey Cafe». 'That explains why he's such a good merchant.' Kira, in some sick twist of fate, was actually orphaned by this game on day one.

Her parents either weren't able to handle the truth or didn't believe it in a rather sensible manner. Somehow or another, they ended up jumping and trying to pull her with them. Kira couldn't do it. She had hated herself for a while for feeling nothing at their loss and then realized why after meeting Ryzo and Agil: the two people who raised her hadn't actually been there for her once in her life, not since they moved to Japan from Ireland.

They hadn't pampered her, they hadn't scolded her, they hadn't even given her 'The Talk'; she had to ask her health teacher to do that in her last year of junior high school. She was, like Ryzo, in her final year of high school when the Death Game happened. It was the first time her parents began to try and connect with her, though there wasn't much need to. What they had worked.

Ryzo felt like crap for not saying anything at the time, even though Kira had just poured out her life story to him. And over something that he'd have eventually gotten over on his own too. Agil had promised to take her in once they got clear of this death game. Ryzo hadn't been able to say anything, not at the time. He was too busy feeling like crap for not thinking that others could have had a tough life too, even before the game. It hadn't occurred to him by then.

"Ryzo! Great to see you! Come on in." Agil put a hand on the teen's shoulders and steered him into the large supposedly municipal building that was being used for free by the mid-level players and clearers alike for seasonal celebrations. The building itself was like a freaking labyrinth in and of itself, yet somehow Agil managed to lead Ryzo to the party without getting lost. Ryzo, unfortunately, had lost track of where they were going after the fourth left turn in a row.

Agil opened the wooden door in front of them and the white-haired fighter was assaulted with a plethora of sights, sounds, and smells previously not available to him. The room had clearly been a lucky grab, or rather since it was Agil, a good bargain. He had somehow secured the dining hall. Ryzo soon realized why.

All the way in the back, in a spot the rest of the small number of guests were avoiding, were two massive «Dire Wolves» seemingly guarding the big Christmas Tree in the back of the room. He recognized the collars around their necks and wondered why the reason they were there hadn't occurred to him sooner. Just like how other people had tough lives, maybe even tougher than his had been after the accident two years...no, officially three years ago today. Someday soon, he'd tell them about himself like they had told him about themselves.

_Kira._ Ryzo made his way through the party to the attractive redheaded girl feeding large slabs of «Raw Meat» to the two massive «Wolf» type mobs. He stopped a few feet short, suddenly unable to think straight. It was Kira, yes. But she was wearing a form-fitting red Santa suit and had a Santa hat on, which meant that she had in some way gone to great lengths to dress up for this party. Even her long red hair, normally left in a braid down her back, was carefully combed so it would cascade down like waves of flame.

"Ryzo!" The girl's amber colored eyes sparkled when she noticed Ryzo. When people look at the famous Asuna, the mischievous Argo, the stubborn Lisbeth, and even the determined young Silica they think of the words 'beautiful', 'pretty', and 'gorgeous'. Now, in comparison, on the few occasions Ryzo has seen them, and the one time he ever spoke with any of them besides Argo, the words that came to mind were _probably clingy and emotionally dependent_ for Asuna, _not going there, she's like a little sister to me_ with Argo, _why pink for your hair?_ with Lisbeth, and _anyone who goes after her best be her age, otherwise I might kill them for breaking every single last boundary of common decency and law if Kirito doesn't_ was what sprung to mind upon first seeing Silica.

Not exactly a guy who is prone to giving compliments based on appearance. So, to say that Ryzo was dumbstruck by how GOOD Kira looked in that tight, red, fur-lined suit means something here. He stared at the girl for a good ten minutes, rooted to the spot before anyone noticed.

Kira, fortunately or unfortunately, was the one who did. She had grown used to his mannerisms over the past month, having made it a point to party up with him whenever she went out to level up. Thanks to Argo, convincing him to do so hadn't been difficult in the slightest. After closing the martial artist's slightly open mouth by lifting his lower jaw by the chin with her finger she snapped her fingers in front of his eyes with a blank look on her face save a small smile.

"Hey there Ryzo. Missed me that much huh? That you just stared holes in my outfit. Were you hoping that would let you see through it, maybe?" Kira's smile turned to a mischievous grin that wasn't too far a cry from Argo's; the two usually spoke in a constant back and forth of teasing when there wasn't anything serious going on apparently, judging by the reply Ryzo managed to choke out after blinking a few times and overcoming the redness threatening to show on his face. His grin was a bit lopsided, so those who didn't know him well usually fell for his jokes pretty hard.

"Well, yeah, I did miss you beautiful. But I thought you dressed up like that for «Behemoth» and «Rachel» here, to spread some holiday cheer to the last two of the pack." Ryzo's memory and recognition of just which of the two «Dire Wolves» still lived impressed Kira a little, but she was a bit busy holding back her own blush. Rarely did he call her by any sort of nickname, let alone 'beautiful'. "Wait, wait a sec...are you trying to say that you dressed up like this - in this tight, hot Santa suit - just for ol' me?"

"Yeah, that's right tough guy. I hope you don't mind me leaving the beard off though. It kinda itched." Kira let out a slight squeal of surprise when Ryzo began to scratch the bottom of her chin for a few seconds. She hid the slight disappointment she felt when he stopped by berating herself with the thought _you're not a dog!_

"That feel better, Ms. Claus?" Ryzo's voice seemed to sound a bit triumphant, having gotten the first reaction of the night without a doubt. It was an unofficial competition between the two of them.

"A bit. So, how about you?" Kira's question was met with a dumb look on Ryzo's face. "Did you dress up like this just for little old me?" The seductive look and pose she struck on 'me' made Ryzo roll his eyes. It was one of her more exaggerated ones, but a few males spat their eggnog into one another's faces at the sight.

"Do I look like I'm dressed to impress or not? I'm insulted you'd even ask." Ryzo, for the record, was wearing a red sleeveless shirt with a green coat on over it. He had a green scarf tied around his waist as a belt and a pair of red pants on with green pointy shoes that screamed 'Santa's Elf'. He hadn't done anything special with his hair, but on each ear was an earring, one green and the other red.

"You certainly do. I just wanted to be sure that you weren't dressing up all nice for anyone else who's coming tonight..." Kira giggled quite a bit after noticing the number of people with eggnog on their faces from her earlier posing. After she pointed it out to Ryzo he started cracking up too. Agil watched at a distance with a guest that may surprise you - Diabel.

"Is that really the same brutal, ferocious dagger wielder from the boss raid on the first floor who tore off a «Kobold Sentinel's» head without any sign of remorse and almost seemed to enjoy the sickening sound effects Kayaba added in to discourage the use of those kinds of attacks?" Diabel asked Agil, looking up at the tall black man in disbelief at the seemingly blatant flirting going on about twenty feet away. Diabel had been working with Ryzo often since the first floor boss fight, actually, partying up with him at the request of a few players to make sure that he didn't get himself into trouble. As such, Diabel felt like he knew the ferocious fighter pretty well. He had yet to see him and Kira in the same place though.

"It is. And that girl is still the very same girl who you brought to me a few days after the start and asked me to look after. She only acts like this with him or that information broker who has no sense of the usefulness of certain weapons." While Diabel listened to Agil launch into a somewhat anti-Argo tirade, the rest of the players were also getting back into normal conversations and the attention being paid to the two players chatting near the gigantic «Dire Wolves» decreased.

A number of the clearers present, maybe twelve out of the twenty or so who had elected to attend thus far, had been in the general area of the two during their training sessions the past few weeks and on occasion in dungeon diving parties for the cleared field dungeons on the third floor with Ryzo and Kira. The fourth floor was on vacation due to the time of year, as none of the clearers wanted to spend the holiday season fighting monsters all day and all night. Anyways, those who had witnessed this before had explained to the rest about how this was just how the two were and that it wasn't any of their business.

"SORRY WE'RE LATE!" Rang a rather familiar voice. Everyone turned to see the ones who had paid for the food and taken charge of the present giving stomp in. «Fuurinkazan», followed by the unexpectedly late «Black Cats of the Fullmoon». Ryzo had met them a few weeks back and taken their training on as a personal matter, though he had declined when they asked him to join. It had planted a few interesting ideas in his head.

As soon as Dale, Harry One, Dynamm, Kunimittz, and Issin were through the door Keita, Ducker, Sachi, Tetsuo, and Sasamaru rushed in and Klein entered...backwards. He seemed to be pulling something. His guild mates formed a line behind him and began to help him pull as every started to laugh and join in one by one. Klein could always be counted on for a good time, after all. They expected this to be no less. After Agil, Diabel, and Ryzo joined in (whose animalistic growling scared the shit out of a few front liners for a brief instant) Kira sighed and opened up her menu.

"Klein, everyone, I have a better idea. «Rachel», «Behemoth», come here. Can you pull that big bag through the door for me, pretty please?" Ryzo and Agil practically leapt out of the way after hearing Kira say that. 'Pretty Please' were the special keywords she had set for the «Voice Command» on her pet AIs. Everyone else got the message except Klein, who found himself picked up in one «Dire Wolf's» jaws like a kitten in the mouth of a lioness.

"You can just set him down to the side «Rachel» sweetie. Good girl! Now «Fetch» the bag!" «Fetch» is a special skill that can be taught to pet mobs based on canines. It makes them go retrieve something or someone for the player, but they can't enter or exit a city without their master as a rule to prevent it from being used to PK. Kayaba had been gracious enough to allow them a safety net of ten feet on that matter.

The two massive beasts, which had essentially been reduced to enormous dogs by Kira's command, followed her orders and after Klein was set down slightly slobbered on and out of the way they pulled the massive lumpy bag through the door which was clearly filled with presents.

"I brought the presents, as promised!" Klein happily shouted as he tried to retrieve the bag from the two «Dire Wolves», rather comically. "Give - it - to - me!"

"Oh, shoot, I forgot to get you a present! Sorry Ryzo." Kira looked up, a bit disappointed in herself for being too wrapped up in getting her outfit, and suddenly had a strange glint in her eyes as she looked at something near the door.

"Pity, but I did get you something. Besides, getting to see you in that outfit is plenty of a present already Kira." Ryzo seemed much smoother than usual tonight, miraculously. Or maybe it was just around her that he didn't make girls hate him for saying off-putting things. It was kind of ironic, to be honest. He constantly offended women, yet if he saw someone making any kind of unwanted advances, cursing women off, and so on, without good reason...well, he'd go into a bit of an ugly mood, to say the least.

And if it weren't for the fact that they were virtual avatars, all those men on the receiving end of his bad moods would have been in a hospital. Technically they already all were though, but he didn't think on it much. Wow, way off topic. Agil clapped his hands together once the bag was freed.

"Alright everyone, it's time to pass out the gifts! Midnight's drawing near." Everyone gathered together as Agil opened the bag and started to pull out brightly wrapped presents. When it had been discovered that they could actually wrap up presents in the traditional Christmas colors, a lot of people were happy. It meant that they could celebrate the holidays even here, trapped in this game.

A vast majority of the players were actually feeling grateful to Kayaba for it. They even had traditional tags that they could write on rather than having to pull up the item information to see who it was for. It wasn't too big of a difference, but it was the little things that they appreciated. And some, like Ryzo, were of the philosophy that if they were going to be trapped in this game, they might as well enjoy it.

"Kira, this one's for you!" A large rectangular box came flying through the air her way. The redhead caught it, barely. It was a gift from Ryzo. Agil passed out presents for Klein and the members of «Fuurinkazan», and it seemed like every one of them had a present from Ryzo too. «The Black Cats of the Fullmoon» each got gifts from the white-haired fighter as well. Even the solo players attending the party got one from him. The guy had gone all out for the celebration.

"Ryzo, c'mere. This one's for you." His pointy green shoes carried him across the room with Kira in tow as he strode towards the bag to receive a gift box from Agil. It was the last present. Agil had pulled it out earlier and set it aside without saying anything.

"Everyone pitched in for this, even Kira. She didn't know it though. This is our thanks for your hard work and all the help you've given us. Especially with the tree. And from the looks of things, you've outdone yourself with the presents too." Ryzo accepted the small box just as the clock hit midnight. The bell tower in the center of «Urbus» sounded suddenly and began to ring out the notes to the seasonal tune Silent Night. Kira, Sachi, and the other girls who were present began to sing the song.

"Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon Virgin Mother and Child

Holy Infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight

Glories stream from heaven afar

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!

Christ, the Savior is born

Christ, the Savior is born

Silent night, holy night

Son of God, love's pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth..."

It was beautiful, even to the non-Catholics. Just the act of singing was what had moved them, it seemed, rather than the song itself. Ryzo listened with a smile on his face as the girls sang and a feeling of peace washed over the room. It spread through the building too, as the door had been left open and everyone could hear the song echoing through the stone halls of the castle-like interior. Afterwards everyone set about opening their presents, grouping up with their close friends and shouting words of gratitude about the room to others after opening each gift.

Ryzo found himself trapped by «Behemoth» and «Rachel» into sitting with Agil, Kira, and Klein and his friends. Klein ripped apart the candy cane wrapping paper on the present Ryzo had given him like a little kid on Christmas morning. His friends, Agil, Kira, and Ryzo included, laughed at the sight. He lifted a new bandanna out of the box, one that had the kanji characters for his guild's name on it. The bandanna itself had pretty decent stats to boot.

"Thank you, Ryzo! This is awesome!" Klein joyfully equipped the bandanna the old fashioned way; tying it to his head after unequipping the old one.

"No problem, Klein. It just totally screamed 'you' when I saw it, so..." Ryzo had that lopsided grin on his face. Everyone soon saw why - the bandanna was changing colors to bright pink now that it was on his head. It was an amusing ability that the bandanna had which changed its color to match the hair of the wearer. "Now we know for sure what color your hair is though."

"Wha?" Everyone from «Fuurinkazan» burst out laughing along with Agil and Kira. Ryzo simply gave the confused katana-user a lopsided grin, enjoying the moment. Klein wouldn't care too much once he found out, but it would be a source of endless enjoyment for a few weeks before he got a better bandanna.

"Alright, open up your present Harry. I think we've laughed at Klein enough for now. Salmon-hair isn't going anywhere." Ryzo had to say it, and a fresh wave of laughter was brought on. The other groups looked over and wondered what, exactly, was so funny.

"Oh! A new shield!" Harry held up a kite shield, a few levels higher in defensive strength than his current one. The other members of «Fuurinkazan» tore open their presents and each was presented with a new piece of equipment. Ryzo looked to his left, past the massive form of «Rachel», to see Kira doing the same. Her amber colored eyes lit up with joy as she pulled out the two silvery weapons - a katana and a one-handed ax. She had switched to curved swords after hearing about the «Katana» skill and worked hard to unlock it, but she hadn't gotten her hands on one of the blades, until now.

"Thank you so much Ryzo!" Kira launched herself over her favorite «Dire Wolf» to wrap her arms around the white-haired fighter. Klein gave Ryzo a look of jealousy that looked like a joke on his face. Kira was rubbing her face against his happily. Ryzo was just sitting there, unsure of how to react or get her to stop.

"Um, Kira? Could you, maybe, let me go now?" Ryzo nervously asked. He didn't get a vocal response, but Kira held him slightly tighter.

"Kira. Let Ryzo breath, please." Agil intervened and Kira reluctantly eased up, remaining beside him. "Now that we've got that settled, Ryzo, open it up."

"Thank you Agil." Ryzo opened the green wrapped package starting with the bright red bow on it, untying it carefully. Everyone was waiting for him to open the box it seemed; the «Black Cats» held an odd silence, the solos were watching out of the corners of their eyes, and Agil, Klein, and the members of «Fuurinkazan» were looking at Ryzo with knowing looks on their faces.

"C'mon, open it up already Ryzo!" Kira was the only other person who didn't know what was inside the box, it seemed. Ryzo ripped the entire paper wrapping off in one go, a skill he had spent years honing every Christmas season. He took the lid off the box and found a number of things inside: A pair of light metal gauntlets, special boots made for using «Taekwondo» with spikes on the outside of the part covering the shin, and in the middle, nestled in a dark crimson scarf with the name «Dragon's Wing», was a black egg.

"What...is this?" Ryzo carefully lifted the egg out, examining the surface and finding it to be perfectly smooth. The egg itself was heavy and about the size of a softball. The white-haired fighter looked over at Agil for an explanation.

"A few weeks ago, a clearer brought that to me, saying that he couldn't cook it, couldn't trash it, and he couldn't use it...so he wanted to sell it. I figured out what it really was afterwards, using my «Appraisal» skill. It's a «Dragon Egg», meant to hatch a pet for a player who fulfills certain requirements." Agil's words sank in and Ryzo glanced around, wondering why the expectant looks on the other party-goers' faces hadn't disappeared yet.

"And what would those be?" Ryzo's question seemed to be the right one, because everyone suddenly reacted like NPCs who have the right phrase said to trigger a quest.

"A user of unarmed skills or daggers has to roar like a dragon. The instant I read that line I thought of you." Agil laughed loudly and infectiously as everyone shared knowing smiles as they, too, laughed. Ryzo was infamous for the primal sounds he'd occasionally make while fighting. It was like an extra skill that scared the crap out of any mobs that heard it.

"Why'd you keep this a secret from me, Agil?!" Kira was up and over Ryzo in a second, leaning over «Behemoth» to interrogate her adoptive father. Ryzo met a few players' eyes and glared to discourage them from looking at her the way most men would. Those who he had to do this with were few by now though.

"Because I knew you wouldn't be able to stop yourself from ruining the surprise. Kira, can you honestly say you could have kept yourself from blurting it out just now?" Agil's challenge brought about the effect of Kira pouting.

"Ryzo, Agil's bullying me!"

"No, he's not. We both know he's right Kira." Ryzo corrected her instantly. Kira turned to him and gave him a glare, but since the egg was still in his hands she did nothing else. "Kira..."

"Fine, I'll admit it. But still, you guys could trust me a bit more." A fresh round of laughter broke out. "Hey, that isn't funny!"

"Kira, we do trust you. Just not with this, that's all." Ryzo merely chuckled, though his words earned a huff and a turn of the head from Kira.

"Okay, is everyone done opening their presents?" Agil received a unanimously wordless cheer. "Then let's get back to the party!"

* * *

Floor 2: Christmas Day

"Ryzo, what was that about?" Kira suddenly glomped him from behind, causing Ryzo to jump a bit. He had been PMing Argo about a certain quest she had discovered. She yawned quietly into his ear and settled her head on his shoulder, arms draped over him like he was a big pillow.

"A special New Year's quest." Ryzo still had his game menu set to private, so not even his friends could see it. He knew it wasn't a big deal, but he didn't like that people would be able to look over his shoulder and instantly know how strong he was.

"What about a New Year's quest?" Agil sat up instantly, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "How much money is the reward?"

"No, Agil, it isn't a col reward. The reward is a fireworks display for all the players each New Years. If the fourth floor doesn't get cleared in the next few days though...it can't be completed. It only finishes once both a certain dungeon on the first floor and any floor boss is beaten on the same day."

"A floor boss?! That's impossible!" Agil's words barely registered as Ryzo counted up the number of people at the party. Forty-nine players, most front liners save the «Black Cats», and they weren't too far off thanks to Ryzo and Agil's help. With all the new equipment he'd given them yesterday and the presents they'd gotten each other, it wouldn't be too impossible...

"It is possible. With everyone here, it is possible. All we need to do is level up the «Black Cats» some more, the rest of us are all front liners. The dungeon has been fully explored and the boss room found. All we need to do is prepare and go there. It's possible." Ryzo had a crazy grin on his face that Kira liked and Agil feared.

"Um, Ryzo, why would all of these players risk their lives for a fireworks display?"

"Agil, leave that to me. You just see about waking them all up for me, eh? It looks like the breakfast is already set anyways, best eat while it lasts." On the banquet table that had been up against a wall the night before were enough place settings and food for everyone to eat a hearty breakfast.

"Okay, you just have to wake Kira up then. Good luck with that." Agil walked away chuckling.

"Alright Kira, time to wake up and-" As Ryzo turned his head he found Kira's soft lips pressed against his cheek for a split second.

"Mistletoe." Kira smiled and pointed up to where the plant in question hung from the ceiling.

"Well, so it is. Was this planned?" Ryzo didn't turn his head again, not wishing to anger Agil, who had gained a very protective fatherly attitude when it came to such things around Kira. 'Seriously, Agil, of all the things that had to be the only one you'd really follow the normal line of actions on...'

"Well, yes it was." Kira mimicked Ryzo's tone of voice playfully. She, it seemed, hadn't been entirely joking in her flirtations. Ryzo's ears alone reddened, out of embarrassment at not being able to tell the difference. "I wanted to give you a Christmas present that was really from me. So, I put a lot of thought into it, and I realized what better present than a kiss from a cute girl?"

"I see. Well, that was a very clever plan, you little vixen." Ryzo slipped back into their usual banter with a big smile on his face. A small, smooth lump under his shirt shifted suddenly and a small black dragon poked its head out of the top of Ryzo's shirt. "«Garm» thinks so too, don't you buddy?" Kira giggled at that.

"I'd better go feed «Behemoth» and «Rachel» come to think of it. I'll be back in a moment." Kira got off Ryzo's back and went towards to large furry masses which she had been sleeping amidst. An imprint of her shape could be seen in the fur on «Rachel»'s back.

"And I should get you something too, ne, Garm?" Ryzo took the biggest, comfiest chair at the head of the table, grabbing some scraps of meat as he went and then he piled it onto his plate at the end.

"Eat up, buddy. You've got a lot of growing to do." Garm clambered out of the top of Ryzo's red sleeveless shirt with enthusiasm and began to eat the meat on the plate. It looked like it was almost too much for the little guy, but he finished it all and climbed sleepily into Ryzo's arms, where he held him in the crook of his left as he piled food onto his plate again, this time for himself.

"Ryzo, even I have to admit it. That's just way too freaking adorable for you to have." Klein sat down at Ryzo's right with that as his morning greeting.

"And a good morning to you too, Klein." Ryzo pointedly ignored the words and looked up when the sound of panting «Dire Wolves» informed him of Kira's return. The two big «Wolf» type mobs laid down on the floor behind her chair as she sat down, bits of what looked like raw meat stuck in their teeth.

"Good morning Klein, Ryzo." Kira hadn't overheard the conversation it seemed. "And in my opinion, that adorable little dragon suits Ryzo perfectly. He may be a brutal fighter, but he has a gentle side too."

"Ah, thanks for that Kira." Ryzo felt like he was being stabbed repeatedly by Agil's judgmental gaze. "Anyways, Garm here is mine, whether you like it or not Klein, so you'd best get used to it."

"What can he do, anyways? Does he heal you like the «Feather Dragon» mob could?"

"Nope. He gets bigger." Ryzo gave Klein a dangerous smile. Everyone at the table at that point shuddered.

"Like, how much bigger are we talking here? And does that size upgrade come with fire breath?" Klein eyed «Garm» up with a cautious look on his face. The adorable little black dragon yawned in response and snuggled up against Ryzo, causing all the girls at the table to swoon at just how cute the sight was.

"Very. Like «Rachel» big. Maybe bigger." Ryzo watched the disappointed faces around the table at the news that the cute little dragon would get all big and ferocious. 'I'm beginning to wonder just who this present was actually for.'

"Wow...that's pretty big." Kira was even surprised by that knowledge. "But, won't that be inconvenient for you? I mean, he wouldn't be able to enter buildings. Would he?"

"I'll just stick to my boat then, I guess. Won't be too much trouble, really. I'll just do street-shopping for essentials." Ryzo leaned back in the comfortable chair, considering the problem that had been brought up.

"You'll need a chef then." Agil's comment brought a new burst of laughter around the table. Ryzo's one and only attempt at cooking had failed so horribly that he had deleted the skill and filled the slot up with «Poison» instead. He still had yet to share how he had gotten an extra skill slot though.

"Why is that so funny?" Ryzo grumbled, knowing that the laughter was well deserved. He smiled in spite of himself. Garm twitched in his sleep and Ryzo looked down at his pet, a bit surprised by the motion.

"Well, if you actually do end up in need of a live-in chef, I'll volunteer. It'll be better than being a poster girl for a certain merchant's shop..." Kira left the syllables trailing as she looked at Agil out of the corner of her eyes.

"O-oi, Kira, it isn't like that! Besides I can't approve of that! You'll need a good reason missy."

"Why can't I? I'm responsible, and I'm almost an adult. Are you...assuming something is going to happen?"

"Kira, that's not what I meant."

_A good reason, huh?_ Ryzo tuned out the two's bickering, just like everyone else at the table at this point. _What could possibly be a good reason?_ Ryzo suddenly snapped his fingers and had a look of revelation on his face. "That's it!"

"Huh?"

"Huh?" Kira and Agil had said this at the same time.

"I think I might start up my own guild sometime soon." Ryzo's statement was met with looks of astonishment on the faces of those around the table. "Don't think I'm letting just anyone in though. I'll be setting the bar very, very, very high."

"Oh, come on Ryzo! We all know you're letting Kira in." Klein's protest was followed by some of the guys calling out 'We don't blame you,' or 'Man, I'm so jealous.'

"And? I know I can trust her with my life. You got a problem with that, Klein?" Ryzo acted like he took offense at the comment, causing Klein to start stumbling over his words.

"W-what, no! T-that's not what I was getting at!" More laughter broke out as breakfast was winding up with emptied plates and contented sighs. "Come on guys!"

"Calm down Klein, I'm just messing with you." Ryzo pointed his fork at Klein. "Though, I am kind of wondering whether or not you'll ever be successful in snagging that elusive future Mrs. Klein. You'll have to get used to being teased, I bet." More laughs, dying down to chuckling, and this time Klein joined in.

"Yeah, I guess so. Anyways, thanks for the invite Agil. We'd better get going before the time limit on the room runs out, right?" Klein stood up and his friends followed suit.

"Hold it! Everyone, before you go, there's something I wanted to talk about." Ryzo waited until everyone was paying attention, which didn't take more than a few seconds, then continued, "There's a certain quest that needs a large number of people to clear. The reward isn't exactly matched up to the risk, per-say, but the benefits of doing it could be the difference between success and failure in clearing this damnable game."

"Ryzo, what are you on about?" Diabel spoke up, one eyebrow raised inquisitively. "I haven't heard of a quest with any numerical requirement at this early floor." The blue-haired man hadn't heard of this quest, and he had been a beta tester.

"According to Argo, it's something Kayaba added in after. She wouldn't say who her source is, but I guess one of the people who worked for him got trapped in here too and they knew." Ryzo paused and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the difficulty he knew he would have in saying this next part.

"In any case, the quest requires access to the first and fifth floors. Most of the front line is on vacation right now, and even with all of you I hesitate to ask this, but...would you be willing to risk your lives to give a glimmer of hope to those hiding away in the Starting City?" Ryzo had a carefully constructed neutral expression on his face, not wanting to influence the party-goers any more than his words have. Agil was giving him a funny look, which was reasonable since Ryzo had just lied to all the front liners about the clearing requirements for the quest.

"What exactly is this...glimmer of hope you're talking about?" Sachi, oddly enough, asked. Ryzo turned his placid gaze to her, pale blue eyes analyzing the black haired girl. She shivered a little under the emotionless eyes suddenly focused on her.

"Fireworks." Ryzo said this one simple word and an interesting progression of expressions occurred. At first there were looks of shock and distrust, then thoughtful expressions, and finally understanding. "I take it you all understand why this is so important."

"Seeing those will help cheer the people up, brighten the mood, and hopefully light a few sparks, right?" A new voice spoke this time; it wasn't quite as deep as Agil's voice, but it couldn't be considered high-pitched either. Ryzo took note of the player who had piped up. It was a young looking guy, around Kirito's age maybe, with spiked up blonde hair, brown eyes, and an outfit reminiscent of a traditional European noble. He looked the type to wear heavy armor in battle, and to be loyal to his superiors.

"That's the exact reason why I ask this of you all. Thank you, um..." Ryzo scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry; I haven't caught your name yet." A fresh round of friendly laughs broke out, alleviating the tensions.

"Tir. T-I-R, Tir." Pronounced 'tear', by the way. "And I actually get that a lot. Somehow, my appearance seems to be easily forgettable." Though he said this with a smile, the looks he received were both silent amusement and understanding of his self-depreciating humor, or pity and guilt at believing that this was his way of saying that they had ignored him politely. It restored the serious mood to the lot of them, though.

"Well, thanks for speaking up Tir. Now, how many of you are up for this? We'll be doing some hardcore leveling and planning. If we do this right...we might even save some lives. Show of hands, please." Ryzo looked around the table, expectantly. Agil and Kira were the first to raise their hands, followed closely by the «Black Cats of the Full Moon».

«Fuurinkazan» came shortly after and Diabel led the remaining solos, including Tir, into a somewhat reluctant agreement. "Alright. We'll meet at the western gate in two hours then. From there we can decide where we'll be going to grind. Sound good?" Ryzo felt a bit awkward after that, not knowing how to dismiss them all considering this wasn't really much of a boss meeting. The awkward feeling spread until a deep voice broke the almost physical silence.

"Alright. Well, that's that everyone, so clear out. I don't want to have to pay for any extra time here, got it? Don't forget anything; make sure you've got it all before you leave." Agil's words wrapped things up nicely. Ryzo smiled and stretched his legs a bit, careful not to disturb Garm as he stood up. He, Agil, and Kira would be trying to round up a few more players to round out the group for a more safe number and then establish the parties at the gate.

"Say Ryzo, what's the «Crown of Swords» going to be doing in this?" Kira popped up behind his chair suddenly, and the white-haired teen was amazed at her speed. She had been seated only brief moments earlier.

"Kirito's harem-er-guild? They're going to be taking care of the first floor matters. Apparently they offered to lead the clearing party, but because they already accepted the quest they can't leave the first floor. That's where we come in." Ryzo waited until the guests had all filed out to do their preparations before he opened up his menu while walking towards the Christmas tree. He unequipped his shirt and coat, and then ducked behind the tree, changing into his preferred outfit and his new equipment.

"Ryzo, I know it's all virtual, but couldn't you have waited?" Agil moaned. He knew it was pointless, but he had to say it anyways. Kira had blushed slightly at the sight of Ryzo's surprisingly scarred back and fit torso.

He emerged from behind the tree garbed in a white sleeveless shirt with black trim on the collar and an intricate pattern woven in barely visible grey thread on the back. Around his neck was the dark crimson scarf, «Dragon's Wing», and a much longer blood red scarf had been tied around his waist, trailing out behind him. His pants were black as night, matching his new spiked boots. On each hand was one of the new steel-grey light metal gauntlets. On the sides of his legs were ten small throwing knifes. A dagger hung on the right side of his waist, the sheath tucked into the long blood red scarf. Garm was lounging on Ryzo's left shoulder, his small black tail wrapped around his master's neck lightly.

"Kira, you go ahead and go next. Agil and I will go on ahead and meet you outside." Ryzo walked past the two swiftly, looking rather impressive with his belt-scarf trailing out behind him. Agil hesitated a moment and then followed Ryzo, ducking his head to go through the door. The two walked down the wide stone corridor, side by side. "So, Agil, which of the solo players do you think we can ask to be in our party? Your STR and axe make up for my low defense and damage, and my speed makes up for your cool down times. Kira's dual wielding and «Dire Wolves» make her worth two party members. Any suggestions on who we should bring in to round out our party?"

"Hmm...I'd say Diabel...and maybe that Tir guy who spoke up earlier. I've heard good things about him from my regulars. As for a sixth...there's a front liner using the «Two Handed Assault Spear» skill tree. He's pretty good, apparently. Name's..." Agil tried, but couldn't seem to remember the name too clearly. "Ah, sorry I can't remember." Garm scampered over the back of Ryzo's neck to his right shoulder to glare at Agil.

"It's okay. I have another idea to fill the spot. Besides, I've heard that guy is a hardcore loner." Ryzo adjusted his gauntlets, then manipulated his menu and equipped his glasses. He didn't actually need them for anything, but he liked to wear them when he was going to be doing anything like picking a face out of a crowd or reading long streams of information since they had the effect of easing eyestrain. The level of detail and thought Kayaba put into this game scared him a bit at times.

"Who?" Agil looked over at Ryzo with a bit of shock. Since dragging him off his boat and even before that, Agil knew the fighter hadn't socialized with any players he didn't already know or ended up partying with through the select few people he did know. Hence not knowing everyone's names, as with Tir. So, for Ryzo to have someone in mind was rather unusual.

Garm's tail curled around the frame of the glasses, investigating the new object. Agil could have sworn that he was smarter than most pets, based on the little black dragon's curiosity alone.

"He's a pretty good player, using a sword and shield combination with great defense." Ryzo's acknowledgement clearly meant a lot to Agil, as the man didn't object. "Though he has yet to appear on the boss raids, I suspect that he might join in soon. This raid isn't very well planned, and I want to have as many bulwarks against the storm of deadly possibilities that we'll be facing in a few days' time."

Ryzo untangled Garm's tail from the glasses and scratched the little black dragon's head to get him to relax a bit.

"Well, if you can get in touch with him, Kira and I can finish up our prep work while you find this mysterious 'bulwark' of yours." Agil looked back over his shoulder as the two reached a large spiral staircase to see Kira rushing towards them.

She was no longer in her provocative Christmas themed attire, but instead wore a simple pair of brown pants, blue boots, and a blue shirt with long sleeves that flared out at the ends. It really made the long red hair trailing behind her seem more...red. On her left hip was her one-handed «Beast Axe» and slung over her right shoulder was her «Fang Sword». Trailing behind her were «Rachel» and «Behemoth». Neither Ryzo nor Agil had any idea how the two had gotten into or out of the room and neither had any intention of asking.

"Ryzo, Agil, sorry I took so long! Are we all set?" Kira caught up to them and stood there with a hand on her axe handle, a habit she'd developed as of late. The red-head appeared relaxed, but if a guy started to harass her the axe would flash out and smack him in the face. "So, will it be the three of us, or will there be more people in our party?"

"I'll be gathering the party members together, Kira, but there will be three others. Diabel, Tir, and one other. My 'bulwark' as Agil put it. I'm heading off to find them now, so you and Agil finish your preparations." Ryzo sent a party invite to the two, which both promptly accepted. The fighter turned to leave only to find a certain Irish girl clamped onto his arm.

"Can't I come with you?" Kira looked up at Ryzo with puppy eyes and held his arm tightly to her chest. Agil looked about ready to pull them apart when Ryzo, casual as no man should be in such a situation, slipped out of her grasp and caught her arm as she stumbled forward.

"No, you can't. By the way, how come you don't have an Irish accent?" Ryzo distracted Kira with this question before leaping across the opening in the middle of the spiral stairs the level below. «Acrobatics» was definitely his favorite skill.

"Ryzo, no fair!" Kira called out. She didn't follow him though, as even she knew when to give up.

"I'd really like to know the answer to that question when I get back, okay?" Ryzo called up as he almost glided down the rest of the stairs. He managed to save time by leaping from the third level to the bottom, catching up to Diabel and the other solos at the main doors. Garm hovered in the air beside him, having taken flight upon realizing what his master was doing when he had smoothly leapt over the protective railing on the spiral stairs.

"Hm? Ryzo? What, are you running from Kira again?" Diabel turned to the teen that was bent over slightly, catching his breath a bit. Tir was there too, giving Ryzo a strange look. He must have witnessed Ryzo's jump just then, or assumed that he had done something at least as extreme.

"No, actually. Trying to catch you and Tir. Forgot to fill in the three empty slots in my party, and I figured you two would be good for them. What do you say?" Ryzo sent the two their invites before either could respond.

"Sure. It isn't like I don't know how to work with you pretty well already." Diabel accepted without much thought. Tir, however, seemed to be carefully considering it. He hit the reject button. "Tir?"

"Sorry, but could we duel first? I want to know how strong my party leader is before I trust them with my life." Tir opened his menu and equipped his fully armor set, looking for all intents and purposes like a real knight. He had a mace and a kite-shaped shield equipped. Next thing he knew, Ryzo suddenly had a request for a «First-Strike Duel» pop up in front of him.

"Understandable. It's a good way to think. I'll do it." Ryzo accepted the duel, right there, in the massive archway flanked by heavy metal doors that served as the large castle-like building's main entrance. The timer began to tick down. "Garm, stay back for this, okay?" The little black dragon complied, landing a bit clumsily on the stone floor.

"Just out of curiosity, but do you really plan on using a dagger for this?" Tir pointed to the rather small blade tucked into the belt-scarf Ryzo was wearing.

"Yes, and if I wanted to spoil anything, I'd have Diabel tell you about the first floor boss fight, or rather, how I fought during it." Ryzo had a reputation, after all, as the most brutal fighter of Sword Art Online. "Actually, because I'm very proud of my reputation, why don't you tell him Diabel?"

"He stabbed and slashed through the tiniest chinks in the enemies' armor, and then ripped their heads from their bodies using his legs and body weight." Diabel's short summary of Ryzo's tactics caused some unease in the rest of the solo players, simply due to the accuracy and brutality that simple sentence combined.

"I don't fight like that during a duel, so don't worry, your head's safe." Ryzo jokingly reassured Tir, though he couldn't actually see his opponent's face through the visor on the player's helmet. Ryzo had a friendly grin on his face as the timer reached the halfway mark.

"Ready yourself, Ryzo. Otherwise, I'll win in an instant." Tir readied his mace and stood at the ready in a rather defensive stance. Ryzo's pale blue eyes picked out a number of very small, very hard to hit weak spots, though some must have been intentional, judging by the stance his opponent had taken. His glasses caught a glare as he contemplated his foe.

Ryzo figured that he was dealing with someone who had spent a lot of time studying the theory of fighting and had managed to develop a solid style of fighting once the death game started as a result. A plan formulated in his mind, and the solo players watching him could almost picture gears spinning in his head.

"Take your own advice Tir." The timer hit zero. Then, approximately 10 seconds later, the CONGRATULATIONS message appeared over Ryzo's head...five feet behind Tir. A small red glow could be seen through a chink his left shoulder's armor.

Here's a quick replay of what happened: The timer hit zero. Ryzo rushed forward, deftly drawing his dagger with his left hand and picking out two throwing knifes with his right. The two knifes glowed as he used the «Double Shot» throwing skill, which threw two projectile weapons at the target. The target, in this case, was the slits in Tir's helmet visor. The blades wouldn't have actually fit, since the slits were paper thin, but Tir blocked these with his shield anyways.

With his field of vision blocked Tir couldn't have seen Ryzo's amazing show of agility, nor the red glow of his currently equipped dagger, the «Silver Moon». A thin yet strong blade of silver slipped into a small opening in Tir's left shoulder armor that had grown wider once the shield was raised. Ryzo struck out with the readied sword skill, «Triple Thrust», a fast and merciless move that stabbed the same spot three times almost faster than the eye could see.

Then the devious fighter let his momentum carry him until he came to a stop, five feet away, with the CONGRATULATIONS message over his head. His scarves fluttered in the wake of the swift movement. A small red line was on the side of Ryzo's face, indicating that Tir had attempted to slam him with the side of his shield. Ryzo tucked his dagger back into its sheath in the belt-scarf. He adjusted the glasses on his nose, which had almost slid off in the commotion.

"That was close. A few seconds slower and I'd be in a tough spot. You have potential Tir." Ryzo turned to face his defeated opponent and sent another party invite. Tir silently accepted it this time. "I mean that, you know. Cheer up. I've been raised learning how to fight other people, it's natural I'd have a small advantage, even here."

"How did you know I'd block?" Tir had realized instantly why blocking was a mistake, but his body reacted on instinct. It was a tactic very different than any of the mob attack patterns, so no player could have really seen the plan coming.

"Humans always protect their face. The head is one of the most important parts of the body. Keep that in mind when we start facing off against humanoid mobs on the later floors." Ryzo walked past Tir and retrieved his two throwing knifes, but they only shattered into blue polygons a second later. "But man, you have some serious defense there. I was using the most durable throwing knives available right now."

"Oh, really? Thanks...I guess..." Tir was a bit confused by Ryzo's continued good mood. He had expected the already somewhat infamous rage of the teen. He watched as Ryzo loosened the «Dragon's Wing» around his neck so that Garm could fly over and nestle into the warm fabric.

"What? Were you expecting me to go off at you? I'm not the kind of guy who gets angry without reason." Ryzo scratched his little black dragon's chin and began to walk off, towards the center of town.

"Wait, Ryzo, what about Kira and Agil?" Diabel took a few steps after the party leader, confused. He didn't comment on the match, but he knew Tir had gotten over the overwhelming defeat. This early on in the game, someone of Ryzo's level of actual fighting experience would be akin to a cheater in a normal MMO. In Sword Art Online though, it was all just part of the experience. What Diabel was actually more impressed by was how easily Ryzo had brushed the duel aside, as though it were a friendly spar.

"Hm? Oh, right. You two just get ready and meet up at the gates when the time comes. Agil and Kira will meet us there. I have to go hunt down our final member." Ryzo grinned a bit as Garm licked his neck; a clear sign the pet was already very fond of his master.

"Who?" Tir called out. The knight in shining armor wanted to know who had Ryzo, a well-known anti-socialite, so interested in him that he would personally seek him out.

"«Heathcliff»." Ryzo knew that name wouldn't have too much impact yet, but he had a feeling that it would soon.

* * *

"How can it be so hard to find one man? Tell me, really." Ryzo took off his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. Garm scampered up onto his head and excitedly swished his tail back and forth through the air.

After leaving Diabel and Tir at the large castle-like structure, Ryzo had spent half an hour asking front liners about Heathcliff's whereabouts. No one seemed to know. He had then walked about for an hour, searching for the man the hard way. Now, Ryzo found himself in an inn, taking advantage of the restaurant set on the first floor to rest before heading for the meeting place.

"Excuse me." Ryzo looked up and found Garm hanging off his head in front of his face.

"Garm, seriously?" Ryzo chuckled at the sight of the little black dragon happily climbing all over his master's head. Garm clambered back up on top of Ryzo's white hair and began to pick at the ponytail the fighter had kept tying his hair up in since day one. There was now an unobstructed view of the person who had addressed him.

"Are you the one who has been seeking me?" A tall, muscular man with a calm look on his face and wispy light brown hair stood before him garbed in grey plate armor.

"Would you be Heathcliff?" Ryzo's hair came undone and flowed around in front of his face. The man chuckled at the sight of the little black dragon picking at the medium-length strands of hair. Ryzo carefully lifted Garm off his head and held his pet in front of him, giving the young dragon a bemused look before setting him down on the table and fixing his hair.

"I would. May I take a seat?" Heathcliff, now positively identified as such, gestured to the chair across the table from Ryzo. After a nod, the athletically built man sat, watching Garm as the small pet tried to eat a spoon that was set on the table by default. "So, since you seem to know me, might I ask your name?"

"Oh, sorry. Rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm Ryzo. Nice to meet the man behind the rumors. I hope you're as strong as the whispers are saying." Ryzo, finished with his hair, put his hands on the table in front of him, clasped together.

"Oh? And why might that be?" Heathcliff asked, his curiosity piqued by the fighter's words.

"Well, there's a certain quest that we intend to clear by New Year's Eve. To do that, access to the first and fifth floors is required. The reward is a fireworks display on every floor when the year turns. I want to spark a glimmer of hope in the people still hiding out in the Starting City; maybe get a larger pool of people fighting to clear this game." Ryzo laid it all out for the powerful player sitting across from him.

"Hm...and what does that have to do with me? Isn't there a large pool already that can be drawn from?" Heathcliff seemed more interested in why Ryzo had sought him, specifically, than in what the quest was or that they would be facing off against a boss. Garm was now staring at him with an odd glint of intelligence in his eyes.

"I need one more very powerful and capable player to round out my party. Most of the other clearers wouldn't want to risk their lives for this, and if they did agree, I doubt that they'd put their all into it. You, I feel I can trust. You're capable, strong, intelligent, and a very good vanguard. I'm weak, defensively, but I have a partner I pair off with pretty well already. Having two people I can provide support to in a fight only increases my combat ability and the options available to me in battle.

"The rest of my party is already balanced out; I have two average front liners with one-handed weapons and shields, each using a different type of weapon. Though they didn't seem to realize it at the time I invited them, the two would make for a great synergy against any enemy at this point in the game. My fourth has two «Dire Wolves» that were tamed with the entire pack. I'll assume that you understand what that means.

"As for the fifth, he's a big guy like you wielding a big axe. Fast on the uptake, good at spurring on players when they stop like deer in the headlights, great for interrupting and parrying any sword skills launched by a boss." Ryzo finished his explanation, looking up to see a rather surprised look on Heathcliff's face.

"It seems like you've thought this out quite well, Ryzo. Very well. I shall join your party." Heathcliff had a small grin on his face, as though he'd just found something he'd been looking for.

"Thanks, this is a huge relief for me." Ryzo sent the taller man a party invite, which Heathcliff promptly accepted without hesitation. "Welcome aboard."

"You're very welcome Ryzo. I simply wish to do my part, and you have most certainly made that easier for me," came the man's reply. Ryzo took note that there were a total of five names and health bars below his own, shrunk down to avoid obstructing his vision. This made him smile.

"Excuse me, but may I ask you something Ryzo?" Heathcliff spoke as the two stood to leave the inn. Garm scampered off the table and across the floor to the door, acting like an excited puppy.

"Hm?" Ryzo opened the door, only half-listening to Heathcliff as he watched Garm claw a little ways up the doorframe before leaping onto Ryzo and scaling his back by using the scarf draped around his neck as a claw-hold. Garm settled on the back of Ryzo's neck, nestling himself in under the scarf. He was actually small enough to be able to hide in it, amazingly.

"I have been planning on forming a guild for some time now," Heathcliff said as he walked past Ryzo and out the door, "and I've been looking for someone to serve as my sub-leader. Might you be interested?"

"Wha-" Ryzo tripped on the door frame at this. He quickly regained his balance and avoided making a fool of himself, but the question was not what he had been expecting. "Join...your guild? As sub-leader?"

"Yes, that's right. I feel like I could entrust to you the important job of being my sub-leader. What do you say, Ryzo?" Heathcliff beamed at the younger fighter, as though this was a great act of benevolence and charity on his part.

"I say that I'm a dagger user and not much use in such things as a boss fight normally." Ryzo, now with his composure regained as well as his balance, brushed this offer aside casually, and took on a fast pace walking towards the west gate.

"That can change." Heathcliff seemed very set on getting Ryzo to join him.

"No, it can't." Ryzo again shut the man down without even considering anything other than how to refuse him.

"Why not? It's simple enough to-" Heathcliff stopped talking when Ryzo's fist was suddenly millimeters from his face.

"My stats, fighting style, armor, and skills are all based entirely on my dagger-wielding." Ryzo turned around fully to face the persistent man, whose calm demeanor remained even now. "More importantly, I have certain plans in mind for my own guild and I doubt that I'd be able to fulfill my objectives working under you, Heathcliff. Men like you and me don't mix well in terms of business.

"For something like this, a boss raid under special circumstances, we get along just fine until guilds come into it. See what I'm saying here?" Ryzo withdrew his fist and waited for the older man to confirm or deny that he knew what Ryzo was talking about.

The fighter had gotten irate far sooner than Heathcliff had anticipated though. That much even Garm could tell. "I see...well, let's at least attempt to work together amicably in the future, as fellow Guild Masters, ne? If you ever need my assistance, simply let me know."

"Ah, the old 'since he won't join me, I'll find a way to get him in my debt' method, eh? I'm down with that." Ryzo turned and began to walk away from Heathcliff at this point, once more making his way towards the western gate, weaving through the crowd of players and NPCs that had built up in the small side-street.

"You're a very honest person, aren't you?" Heathcliff kept up with Ryzo, with a bit of difficulty due to his bulkier form bumping into people while Ryzo simply moved slightly to the left or right, swaying and turning like some kind of serpent.

"Yeah. So you can drop the 'knight' act if you want." Ryzo slipped out the tail end of the traffic and waited for Heathcliff to catch up a second later. Garm poked his head out of the cozy «Dragon's Wing» around Ryzo's neck, almost appearing to glare at the calm man for a moment before turning to observe their current surroundings.

"Act? Whatever do you mean Ryzo?" Heathcliff appeared to be genuinely confused, but a small flicker of worry flitted across his brow and a set of pale blue eyes did not fail to spot it.

"Look, with all due respect, don't bother talking like you're out of the age of the samurai, okay? I think we can both agree you don't talk like that in real life. People would hate you for it." Ryzo opened up his menu and replaced his throwing knives with throwing picks, not wanting to waste the more costly throwing weapon on trash mobs that he wouldn't really get much experience from to begin with.

"Hmph. Very well. I shall try to speak more casually when it is just the two of us, Ryzo." Heathcliff didn't exactly sound like he was making any kind of effort though.

"As long as we understand each other. Look, that's them over there. C'mon." Ryzo strode ahead and Heathcliff took the opportunity to size up the white-haired fighter properly. At a glance his stride seemed quiet and unassuming, yet prideful, with his head held high and his shoulders back. More careful examination however showed the source of that pride.

Just by observing the grace and ease with which Ryzo walked it was clear that there were years of training and experience behind each and every step of the powerful stride. Garm glared at Heathcliff from his little nest in Ryzo's «Dragon's Wing». Heathcliff grinned. Though he was certainly no Kirito, Ryzo would do his fair share in the coming times.

_Here is the one man I can count on to step up and inspire the players when my special surprise is revealed. I look forward to seeing how you grow, Ryzo._ Heathcliff followed after Ryzo shortly after, noting on the side how dramatic the scene before him seemed to be. _If only he had agreed to join me._

A large array of people armed with weapons all watching a white-haired fighter in rather unique garb approach. It was like something out of a movie or...an RPG. Heathcliff chuckled at the slight irony of this thought and continued on towards the training that awaited him.

A/N: Okay, so this isn't quite as long as I had believed it would be, sorry about that. I hope you enjoy my involvement of the side characters and that you liked the Christmas bit. And just to tell you, Kira is not DEFINITE as a romantic interest. I'm still debating that, but she still has an important role to play in the tale either way. I'm sorry for the rather anticlimactic reveal of Kira's past, but it'll play a bigger role, emotionally speaking, in the distant future. I wanted to put it in sooo early that most of you should forget by the time it finally comes up.

Tell me what you think of Garm, please. Deciding to give Ryzo a pet was a spur of the moment thing, so if it's not working for you, I'm sorry for deciding it on a whim. Garm is probably here to stay, I'm afraid.

I had a lot of fun writing this, though figuring out how to bring things from a festive party to a more serious mood was a bit tough, and I'm not entirely sure if I did a good job. So, please write a review so I know what I did right and what I did wrong. Thank you and I'll be getting chapter three up as soon as possible. Look forward to more fight scenes dear readers, as that is what the next chapter shall bring! I can only hope to live up to your expectations.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Sorry for the enormous delay folks. I have a very easily sidetracked mind, sad to say, and I was more than a little bit sidetracked. For the time being I'm back on this until my Writer's Block clears up for another story of mine. I know it's been a while, but I hope you can still enjoy this. I put a lot of sweat, blood, and tears into it. None of it was my own though. Kidding, kidding. Anyways, I'd appreciate at least a short review on what you liked and didn't like after you finish if you don't mind. I've changed a lot of my ideas for the future of this fic around recently, but that doesn't mean it won't still be crazy and interesting.**

**Now I'm going to apologize up front here. When I started this I had a strong intention of minimizing all involvement of the main cannon cast. While they won't be featured prominently like Ryzo, around whom the story revolves, they will be involved in a significant amount of things considering where the story took me. These things evolve themselves often enough that what I originally plan for an ending becomes impossible. So, without further ado, here's the third chapter for you!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Ryzo and Kira, and Tir. And any and all of the monsters that had to be made up. Credit for this boss goes to kinglugia. If anyone has any floor or monster ideas they want to see me put in here, leave a PM and I'll see if I can use them. No promises.**

* * *

"Ryzo, why the hell do you need _twelve_ pairs of identical boots and gauntlets when you barely wear any armor at all? And for a day trip at best for that matter," came the incredulous response of a sneaky information broker who had apparently taken it upon herself to come and see him off before his party took their turn to enter the second floor boss dungeon. Which was, somewhat fortunately, the last turn overall.

"Well, I figured that I'd be doing a lot of fighting with my hands and feet since the enemies in this dungeon would just be a waste of my weapon's durability. My dagger isn't unbreakable, you know. If it was, you'd never hear the end of people requesting to know if I was selling it or how I got it." The white-haired fighter turned on his heel to face the young girl with the whisker marks painted on her face. "In the first place, why are you even here? I thought that your guild was tackling the preparations to enter that hidden dungeon on the first floor on New Year's Eve."

"Well, Ryzo, when I heard that you've actually managed to pull together something that I had very much believed impossible at the drop of a hat, I had to come and see it for myself." Argo poked him in the forehead, using the stool she had gone to the trouble of bringing with her to remove the height advantage Ryzo normally had. She had also been busy with her free hand, sneakily examining his new scarf until the form of Garm registered in her eyes. "And you also managed to find the most adorable little friend. Who is this, huh? And where'd you find him?"

"It was a gift of Agil and Kira's gotten from some guy who didn't fulfill the hatching reqs. I, apparently, do. Don't know much more past that." The glint in the legendary «Rat's» eyes told Ryzo to warn Agil of a possible interrogation after the day was over. "Garm, this is Argo. Be careful around her, okay? I don't want you to trust anything she says when she has a hungry look in her eyes."

"Kyuuuu..." was the only audible response from the tiny black dragon. That was the main purpose for Ryzo's party participating in the first day's training exercise. There were others, but he wanted to level up his new pet as fast as he could, so tomorrow when the individual training started he wouldn't have to worry about losing him.

"Hmph. You could trust me a bit more Ryzo. How could I possibly sell something this cute?" Argo's indignant response had a follow up that Ryzo had been more than expecting. He'd been waiting for it all day since he'd spotted her in town, tailing him around with an amused grin. "It would be much more fun to mess with Ki-bou using Garm-chan."

"Chan? You are not calling him that under any circumstances Argo. I'm not so easily cowed by your teasing, and the manual you wrote does say that the pet takes after those around it...especially its owner. So Garm won't fall for that stuff either." Ryzo looked to see Garm prove the point by turning his attention to the rather enormous «Dire Wolves» being fed for the seventh time in the span of the day so far - it wasn't even that late yet - finding them much more interesting.

"Better be careful he doesn't start to take after Kira-chan then, huh?" Argo cheekily replied, with a triumphant glint in her eyes and a smirk promising mischief annoyingly planted firmly on her face.

"I'll take that under advisement. Now scat, get back to the important stuff already." Argo giggled a bit at Ryzo impatiently waving her off and took note of the sideways stare of the heavily armored knight-like figure standing not far away.

"Okay. Be careful of that knightly guy though. I don't know much about him, but he's been watching us the entire time," she said, hopping down from the stool and turning to leave. "The stool is a gift from me to you Ryzo. Congrats on deciding to start up a guild, by the way."

"How did you already...never mind..." Ryzo turned to find Heathcliff now walking over, apparently abandoning his plan of attempted covert viewing.

"Who...was that? A friend?" Confusion was clearly written all over the man's face. Ryzo sighed at the realization that Argo had been putting on an act of being slightly more than a simple friend...not that she wasn't, but her goal had been to imply something. And Ryzo feared the outcome she was looking for when he realized that the two massive tamed beasts nearby weren't making a peep.

"More like an annoying little sister. She just wanted to poke around. Argo usually just messages me though...and what the hell am I supposed to do with a stool?!" Ryzo began to pace in little circles to give off an air of exasperation while his mind was processing the possible ways out of Kira's jealousy-induced bad book should this not work out. The sound of huge tails wagging reassured him a bit that things were looking up. 'Even though we're not even in that kind of relationship, she still acts this way.'

"Ryzo, who was that just now?" Kira asked, suddenly in the midst of the two men. Even Heathcliff, tough as he was, backed up a step nervously before mastering himself and putting his knightly façade back in place.

"Argo, she's just an old friend of mine from the beta test. Like a little sister, sort of..." Ryzo laughed nervously as the redheaded Irish girl debated between beheading him and dealing with being an orange player and believing him. She decided to go with the latter, fortunately for all involved.

"Oh. Okay then. «Behemoth», «Rachel», stop looking so serious; you know I don't like it when you do that." Kira walked towards her prior order of business using that rather flimsy excuse to avoid embarrassment.

"So..." Heathcliff started, before clearing his throat, "what was that about a stool?"

"This." Ryzo picked up the offending piece of furniture. He had nothing against it, but he had no use for it either. Such things were useless on a boat, which was what he had intended on using for his guild's base. At least for the time being, once this whole mess was over and done with. Still, it didn't hurt. Never knew what could come in handy. So, he put it in his inventory after making sure it wasn't going to be counted as a crime.

"So, should we get going? Tir and Diabel look ready." Agil meandered over sometime during the conversation, and he slung an arm across Ryzo's shoulders. "What do you think leader-san?"

"Really? Ah, whatever, I guess that's true enough. C'mon guys, we're up." The blue haired (self-styled) paladin stopped fiddling with his menu to look busy and jogged over as Tir followed shortly, his full armor clanking noisily. Despite Ryzo's victory over him, he still saw the merit of using it given his style of fighting. Ryzo sent Agil with the two of them in first and Kira had «Behemoth» and «Rachel» to watch her back. This then left just him, Garm, and Heathcliff as the last group in their oddball party of, technically, nine members.

"So, I take it that you both want to use distance to prevent too big an EXP drain on your little friend there and to judge my individual level of skill?" Heathcliff perceptively asked the white-haired party leader.

"Correct. I went to you based on rumor. I just want to make sure you're up to snuff and if not then that's something we can work on." Ryzo started walking towards the labyrinth, with Heathcliff falling into step with him a second later.

"A wise choice. I would have expected nothing less. We can discuss this guild you plan on starting up along the way I suppose." Heathcliff's suggestion made Ryzo think back to the earlier conversation the two had had. He couldn't for the life of him remember if he had mentioned the guild to the man, but he felt like he was being oddly forgetful today and wouldn't doubt that he'd mentioned it at some point. He knew he hadn't tried to recruit the older man at least - that action fell squarely on Heathcliff's grey-armored shoulders.

"I thought you'd say that. It's mostly because of that whole 'knightly' act you put up around others. I can't get an accurate gauge of who you really are unless I can get you alone, now can I?" Ryzo glanced at the man of the hour only to find an odd look in the eyes that stared back at him and a very tense set in his movements. Ryzo's brow furrowed and he frowned. "Something I said offend you? Or do you not want to get to know people here so that when all is said and done you can just go home and act like this all never happened? It doesn't work that way you know."

"I know. I just can't really..." Heathcliff loosened up a bit, as though relieved, and seemed to be searching for a specific word that he really wanted to use, "fathom. I can't really fathom why you would care about such a thing in a temporary partnership at best."

"Well, there is that, but there is also the fact that, as we are both front liners, I'll be entrusting the lives of others to you by giving you my seal of approval. While that may not seem like much to you, it does to me. Everyone one who dies under your command from then on will be on my head too for not making sure that I can trust you with leading a guild." If Ryzo's deeply thought upon 'guilt by approval' statement surprised Heathcliff, he didn't show it.

"It wouldn't be your fault at all. Now, let's move onto your guild, why don't we? Have you even thought up a name?" Heathcliff's sudden change in topic bothered the fighter, but he accepted it as they walked through the first floor of the labyrinth, swatting aside the ox-like monsters that attacked them without even drawing their blades.

They were that above the enemies in the dungeon. Garm, however, had already risen to level three by the time they'd reached the second to last floor of the dungeon, something Ryzo was immensely happy about.

"So, you're going to go with that name then? Isn't it a bit...I don't know, cliché?" Heathcliff had, by this point, full dropped his knight persona and was merely making conversation like an ordinary person now.

"It is, but that's why all the best names are never used. They're cliché." Ryzo grunted as he stabbed through the skull of a particularly stubborn «Kobold» type mob he'd never seen before and put his dagger back in its sheath.

"I suppose you have a point there, Ryzo; all the best names are cliché. But I can't accept such a name for my guild." Heathcliff's instant denial of the idea brought a raised eyebrow on Ryzo's part.

"So what do you intend to name your illustrious guild, huh?" Ryzo saw the boss room up ahead and could tell that the knight persona would be back up in a moment.

"The Knights of the Blood Oath." The solemn tone in his voice, and the hint of reverence for the title that carried in an undertone, told Ryzo that Heathcliff had thought for a long time solely on the name. "I intend to make my guild capable of running no matter who falls. Should I die in battle, I do not want my guild to collapse to bickering and infighting. I want them to continue to contribute positively."

"That's an admirable goal. I hope you achieve it," Ryzo smiled at the older man as they entered the boss room, not bothering to try and halt the inevitable change in Heathcliff's mannerisms as they came into view of the other six members of their party, counting Kira's «Dire Wolves».

"Hey guys! Sorry we took so long. The mobs were a bit stubborn," the white haired teen called out, waving one of his gauntlet covered hands to the group. Garm poked his slightly larger head out of the nest he'd made in Ryzo's scarf, then jumped out and flapped his slightly larger wings to fly over and around the group, settling on one of the «Rachel's» head.

"It's fine Ryzo. You guys ready to head up to the next floor? The rest already moved on without us," Agil called out. "There's still plenty of daylight left if you want to try fighting our way towards the meeting place."

The meeting place was a small town that, according to Argo, was devoid of players. It was a perfect place for them all to rest up in their leveling march up to the fourth floor. Ryzo's decision to have them fight their way to the boss room not only delayed things long enough so that they couldn't reach the boss until New Year's Eve was upon them, but it would also serve two other, very important, purposes.

Firstly it would help the under leveled members of this haphazard raid party get stronger and get more experience working in groups. This was especially important for some, like «The Black Cats of the Full Moon».

Secondly, it would lead to a growth in their numbers to make up for the fact that they were relatively small. As word spread about their march there would undoubtedly be a close enough number of front liners who would join by the time they needed the numbers most.

These were the things that Ryzo though about as he climbed the stone stairs leading up to the third floor. Once this quest was done he would return to this floor to create his guild. The third floor was where the official Guild Hall was. It was the aptly named place where guilds could be officially formed. The NPCs there could provide assistance and information regarding the guilds already made, provided that they didn't have that information set to be kept private.

The «Crown of Swords» was one such guild. Ryzo's thoughts wandered to the headlining guild - and of course it would be with Argo running the most popular newspaper - and he reflected on how the small, elite group had inspired hope in even those who were still too afraid to venture out into Aincrad.

Ryzo had been doing what he could since being dragged off his boat to help encourage those players to start to work towards helping the clearers in some way. He'd written a new section for the handbook, which ended up as a separate volume altogether. It was an in depth guide on the numerous quests in the Starting City that didn't involve any danger, but would still provide col and experience points.

He'd also managed to convince a few of the betas he knew that weren't cut out for the front line to offer free combat training to anyone who was interested. One had taken his job so seriously he pooled together the col that he and the other volunteers had and bought a dining hall, turning it into a dojo for safe training within the city limits.

The doors coming into view snapped the white haired teen out of his thoughts as he absentmindedly tugged on the scarf wrapped around his neck. "Alright. Let's get moving again people. Same formation through the woods. Stick close to the trail and avoid anything that looks like a quest. We can't afford to get sidetracked."

"Understood, leader-san," Agil replied, leading to the group chuckling at Ryzo's annoyed reaction. He still didn't like that little joke the merchant kept making.

Ryzo opened the doors with a single push of his gauntlet covered hands. He paused, taking in the ancient forest setting of the floor once more. The enormous trees with their thick trunks, the tiny paths occasionally visible winding through the forest...it was all so surreal. He didn't stop for more than a split second though, as he continued forward with purpose.

As the others filed out, he took note of their reactions. Kira didn't seem to be too impressed. Agil let out a low whistle at the sight, apparently impressed despite the fact that he had been there when the floor had first been unlocked. Heathcliff had a look of pride in his eyes, but his face remained impassive. Tir...had his helmet on, and Diabel seemed to be of the same mind as Kira. The pets didn't really care one way or the other.

"You guys know the drill. Agil, Diabel, Tir. You guys go first. Kira, you go once they hit the edge of the woods, then me and Heathcliff'll follow when you do the same. These woods are dangerous even for us, so I want everyone to remain on the path and in sight until we're in the meeting place. Got it?" Ryzo's serious and commanding tone put a stop to any jabs at his role in all this.

"Got it. C'mon guys. Let's get going." Agil took the lead as the knight and the tank followed him, making for a very well balanced group now that he thought of it. The merchant looked back to Ryzo, wondering if that was why he'd recruited a speed based knight and a sturdy defensive tank. The three complimented each other and covered up the weaknesses of the other two. That level of foresight while the running from Kira...well, it was impressive to say the least.

Kira went as soon as the group hit the woods, riding «Behemoth» to make she didn't lose sight of them. Ryzo and Heathcliff jogged after her since they knew that her increased speed would offset the timing Ryzo had wanted to set.

"Ryzo?"

"Yes Heathcliff?" Ryzo glanced as the grey clad knight from the corner of his eyes, wondering why the man had decided to break the comfortable silence that permeated the air as they approached the forest.

"What type of guild do you want to create? I've told you my intent...but you have yet to share your own." Heathcliff had hit the nail on the head with that one, but Ryzo hadn't really given that topic much thought.

"I suppose..." The white haired fighter trailed off as he sped up a bit, leaving his scarves to trail behind him like thin flags.

"You suppose...what?" Heathcliff wouldn't let it go; he just had to know for some reason.

"Scouting. Scouting and helping the weak get strong. Possibly use some kind of player merchant network to help boost the amount of col in circulation, make low level equipment more affordable, et some math whizzes to write some leveling guides, with specifics on which stats are beneficial to which fighting styles, things like that. Probably increase the level of the teaching going on in that dojo in the Starting City. Scouting would be our contribution to the front lines. I'd also personally screen every member. I don't want anyone unsavory joining my guild." Ryzo's rather scattered and widespread goals seemed to impress the knight.

"Those are some very admirable goals Ryzo. I'm very impressed. You seem to have thought on this a great deal."

"Actually, I haven't. I just knew that my goal from day one was to get to a position where I could help as many as possible. I spent a lot of time thinking about human nature after a certain event in my past took something from me. I like to help people as much as most sentient beings of the female gender inexplicably hate me, or at the very least want as little to do with me as possible. Kira and Argo are some of the exceptions." Ryzo slowed his pace to a fast walk after the two crossed into the canopy of the forest, the two big pets and the redhead now visible again a little further in.

"So, following that little comment on the end, you avoid the «Crown of Swords» as a means of self-preservation?" Heathcliff had an amused tone to his voice as he asked this question. It was apparently one of the rumors growing about Ryzo in relation to the famous ray of hope, that he avoided them like the plague for some reason. Argo had not only done nothing to prevent such rumors, she also openly agreed to them. This had led to no end of trouble for Ryzo as people who partied with him on the front lines berated him for shunning 'the heroes' and questioned him about his reasoning. Many believed he had a fear of women, which led to events that amused Argo even further.

Really, for the best information broker in the game, she had way too much free time on her hands.

"In a way…yes. But another reason, and this is what I've told everyone who asked about that before, is that Kirito and his harem can't be everywhere. Someone has to watch the places they don't. I'm acting more like...a support beam. You don't see me, you know I'm there, and you know what I do. But you don't see me. If you want to use a lighthouse as a metaphor, then Kirito and his girls would be the light, and I would be a part of the tower that holds the structure up. Again, support beam metaphor. People don't really think of me, but I'm still doing important work." Ryzo felt rather proud of his analogy this time. Usually they didn't make much sense. Perhaps it was just that he was getting better at making them though.

"I see...that is quite the burden to take upon oneself. While the role of a leader is difficult, the role of one who leads from the shadows is also a hard duty. You and your guild...may make the difference between victory and defeat one day. From the sound of things, you might end up building an empire." Heathcliff's ominous tone brought Ryzo to stare at the man with a perplexed expression on his face.

"Why does that sound bad Heathcliff?" Ryzo had a suspicion that the reasoning would be cliché, as cliché as the name he intended to give to his guild.

"You may end up with minor guilds allied to your own. If I remember correctly, there was a new feature being added where more powerful guilds could take in weaker ones as subsidiary guilds. They would serve as specialized branches, run independently with specific roles in the overall organization of the alliance. Depending on how powerful you become, you may end up with a guild slipping in that could try to revolt and take over your empire. With the amount of control you intend to exert..."

"I see what mean. But you won't need to worry. I'd be as picky with allies as with members, even if you hadn't mentioned that." Ryzo did, however, file this warning away carefully. He'd have to put very strict procedures in place for joining even an affiliated guild it seemed.

"Hmmm...you truly are quite cautious. And you have an incredible mind for battle strategy, on top of your tenacious and deadly fighting. Add your charisma in and I have no doubt that you will become very powerful in this world. I look forward to seeing you rise, Ryzo." Heathcliff's words gave birth to a nagging suspicion in the back of Ryzo's mind about the man, one that would never truly die. It had no specific form, no words to it, but there was a feeling the knight gave off that just set Ryzo on edge from that moment onwards.

* * *

The days had passed uneventfully and with little further discussion between him and Heathcliff. They were too focused on leveling and working on a rhythm that seemed to exist between them that had yet to fully emerge. A pattern that they could use against the boss. Of the entire raid party, now with a full regiment of experienced front liners and leveled up volunteers, the two of them were regarded as the ones who would face the boss down as the main attackers.

According to Argo's beta-based information, the boss was a two-headed hellhound of the «Dire Wolf» variety. Which meant that it would get stronger the longer the fight lasted, as would the remaining minions it would summon; slightly weaker versions of the normal «Dire Wolves». Its name was «Kurken the Fangs of Hades». It had four bars of health, would summon either six powered down «Dire Wolves» or three «Hellhounds» after each is depleted. Its attacks in the first phase were simple; swiping with its paws, biting attacks, and two fireballs, one fired from each mouth. Once it reached the last half of its last bar it would enter a new phase; it would split into two with a quarter of the HP bar left each. That was not in the beta.

This information was apparently from one of Kayaba's employees, specifically the man who had made all the alterations to the bosses that had been cleared in the beta. He wished to remain anonymous, but no one doubted that Argo knew he was who he said he was.

After all, what motive could the guy have for lying? He was trapped too. And if the boss clearing didn't continue, a growing fear of being cut off began to spread. The thought that those in the real world would lose hope that they could clear the game and escape and shut the game down was terrifying.

But now it was New Year's Eve and the time for talk and fears was past. The raid party stood outside the boss room, the time being3:00 in the afternoon. They were waiting for a signal.

Ryzo received the message from Argo confirming that the «Crown of Swords» had entered the hidden dungeon and that it was time to begin. Stepping up onto the stool he'd been carrying for a few days now, Ryzo turned his eyes to the assembled raid party and cleared his throat. With everyone turning towards him, Ryzo took a deep breath and began to speak.

"I know that you all came here because you wanted to spark hope in the hearts of our fellow captives. I came here to do that myself. But I just want to say first that even Argo didn't think that pulling together something like this on such short notice was possible with the front line's leadership all stuck of the first floor. And here we are anyways. We came here without a plan in mind, and now we have one. We know who is doing what; we know information on the boss, though I ask you not to rely on it too heavily given the near catastrophe that I witnessed on the first floor as a result of such trust.

"We came here for a reason. It's something extra, something that isn't necessarily needed. But at the same time, those people down in the Starting City need it so badly. This is our chance to prove to this world, to the people who sit with empty eyes and wait for help that probably will never come, that they don't have to sit around and suffer. That they can actually do something. That they can contribute to this fight for freedom as much as we have already.

"Kirito can't be everywhere we need him. The «Crown of Swords» is not omnipotent or omniscient, despite how hard Argo works and how strong each individual member is. He can't win this fight alone. Hell, this time he can't even be in this fight! But he is doing everything he can to help everyone trapped in this game.

"I say...we return the favor. For each thing he does for us, we do three more for him and for the rest of our fellow prisoners. I say we treat this as a chance to prove to Kayaba that we aren't just fighting for our freedom. That we aren't just rats in his little maze. We fight tonight for hope. We fight tonight for our dignity. We fight tonight so that Kirito can get back to giving these speeches instead of me."

That comment drew a tension relieving chuckle from the crowd.

"But most importantly...we fight for the children trapped in this game. We fight for the elderly who only got trapped here because they wanted to see the newest iteration of something they have seen grow from the beginning into what it is today. We fight for those who can't fight for themselves. We fight not only for our own freedom, for our own hope, but for their freedom and their hope. Now, are you guys ready?!"

The clichéd roar of approval filled the anteroom as Ryzo jumped down from the stool Argo had given him and returned it to his inventory. Then the white haired fighter drew his dagger, «The Silver Moon», a small yet strong blade of silver, and shoved the door open. The raid party followed him as he strode into the room, weapons ready. Heathcliff made his way to the front, still in his grey armor, and stood grimly beside Ryzo as «Kurken» emerged from the shadows on the far side of the room.

«Kurken» was a massive, red furred, two headed monstrosity of a dog. It's tail was a short stub of bone. It's claws were blackened with dried blood and ash. It was easily twice the size of an elephant. The mouths were disgusting, with crimson liquid leaking out instead of normal drool, as though it had been feasting upon living beings. It sent a shiver down the players' spines when those maddened yellow eyes focused on them.

The room itself bore an unsettling resemblance to the first floor boss room, differing only in that the walls were lined with roaring flames instead of pillars. In an instant, three «Hellhounds», wolves twice the size of «Behemoth» and «Rachel» and bearing a terrifying resemblance to the boss mob, emerged from the flames near the doors behind them, prompting Kira to lead the charge against the ambush with her two pets. Agil, Tir, and Diabel led another third of the raid party against another of the three attackers, while «Fuurinkazan» and «The Black Cats of the Full Moon» led the last group against the third.

The boss, as planned, was left to Ryzo, Heathcliff, and the Mastiff sized black dragon that was at Ryzo's heels. Garm had grown exponentially on the way to the boss room, having reached level seventeen to match his master. Heathcliff was level eighteen, but had let Ryzo take command due to his talent for strategy.

Their battle plan was simple. Ryzo and Heathcliff would settle into their rhythm and Garm would dart in and trip the boss up a bit with his tail or by biting «Kurken's» rear legs. Execution wasn't so simple since the rhythm was still not perfect.

The fight started off well enough. Heathcliff charged forward first and blocked a blow from the massive two-headed beast and then Ryzo «switched» in and slashed his poison coated dagger across the paw that had been repelled. Then the other paw had caught him and sent him flying into Garm, who had the presence of mind to roll in order to reduce the damage they took.

Garm's newest ability being a form of damage dampening, which spread any damage the two took between them, also spread the healing between them. So Ryzo drank a potion down and saved his healing crystals for later. He ran in to see that the poison had already taken effect. Heathcliff had been right in his theory that the early bosses would be susceptible to such things was fortunately correct. It slowed the attacks down just enough to cover their imperfect rhythm of attack and parry.

Heathcliff batted aside a paw only to find one of «Kurken's» mouths bearing down on him. He leapt back and made room for Ryzo, who used «Ascension Kick» to slam its jaws shut and stun the head temporarily.

If it weren't for Garm, Ryzo would have met his end at the teeth of the other head's jaws. The stun status effect didn't spread between both it seemed, and had Garm's primary stat not been AGI, neither master nor pet would have been alive to feel the effects of the healing crystal that Heathcliff broke over them, healing all three up.

Blocking those paws did actually take a decent chunk of his health after a few times after all. The boss was the size of an elephant. Ryzo signaled to Heathcliff with a clenched fist and then held up two fingers. Maneuver two.

Heathcliff repelled the next paw and got down on one knee, holding his shield over his head. Ryzo took a running start, jumped, landed on the shield, and was soon sailing overheard where he was able to land on Garm as the black dragon was flying around taking all the agro for the fireballs.

Ryzo actually wondered why Kayaba had set such unchangeable and strict pain filters up until that moment. The fireball that passed him by, logically, should have set him aflame even without touching him. Suddenly, Kayaba's restrictions seemed like a blessing as he realized that even though it was a death game, it was still a game by the creator's standards. However sick and twisted they might be.

Seeing an opportunity, Ryzo pulled out two throwing knives coated in the most powerful poison he could make at the moment. He'd crammed all the status effects he could into it, including a distortion of the senses. While he wasn't sure what the poison would actually do against a boss mob, he did know that it would speed up the fight considerably at the very least. He jumped from Garm's back, landing on «Kurken's» and threw the knives into the eyes of the beast's two heads using «Dual Target», a throwing skill. «Kurken» howled in pain as the first bar of its health was finally depleted, summoning three more «Hellhounds» at the entrance to the room.

Luckily the first three were already dealt with by then and the clearers had been taking the time to carefully heal themselves from the fights with the fire breathing mobs.

Ryzo stabbed into the side of the left hind leg as he slid down it, leaving a long red line in his wake. The line turned a sickly green as the last of the poison on the dagger entered the boss mob's code and weakened it further. The DoT drain on its health was actually fairly significant, for a boss mob that is. Every five seconds a sixteenth of its health drained away.

The second bar of health had to be held for a few minutes until both Ryzo and Heathcliff agreed that the others were ready for the next batch of mobs. Once the six weakened «Dire Wolves» sprang forth, they met with very strong and organized resistance which had eliminated them within a minute.

Despite the ease with which they had dealt with this batch of summoned mobs, not one of the other members of the raid party chose to deviate from the plan and go help Ryzo and Heathcliff. Garm was drawing the fireballs away, which was the greatest danger. The boss was confused and had to deal with three enemies attacking from different places. And each head had a mind of its own.

They knew that they would only get in the way and increase the odds of someone dying if they broke from the plan. Diabel himself had explained that he knew from experience how bad things could turn in an instant if such a deviation were to occur.

So, they watched with a somewhat large amount of awe as Ryzo danced about launching normal attacks that looked rather...professional with his limbs-turned-weapons. His manner of garb began to make more sense also.

With no sleeves on the white shirt, his arms had no form of restriction against the rapid and occasionally unsettling movements and bending that he had to put them through. The scarves left a blur behind him, disorienting the boss further when it targeted him as it aimed at the fluttering red fabric instead of his body, leaving him more room to dodge. The metal boots and the gauntlets not only protected his hands but let him deal small, annoying strikes to the already established wounds on «Kurken's» body that distracted the beast so Heathcliff could launch his more powerful attacks.

Heathcliff was holding his own just as well, if not better, though. He barely moved, only doing the minimum necessary, relying heavily on his shield and the slight delay that the «Shield Bash» sword skill caused in his opponent to strike out with a «Vertical» or «Horizontal». Such simple, beginner level attacks dealt a good portion of the damage, taking advantage of all the debuffing the poison Ryzo had prepared was causing. It was like «Kurken» was caught between and unstoppable force and an immovable object.

Some even compared their fighting to that of the synergy behind the «Crown of Swords». Of course, there were major differences since Heathcliff and Ryzo were making a far more controlled approach rather than one based on an invisible bond and teamwork built through constant team training. They relieved heavily on prior planning and the past few days that they had spent fighting together as a three man team with the growing Garm.

Another comparison that grew popular was that of a hero fighting with a ninja for the greater good. Ryzo had, after all, come out of nowhere with this boss raid and Heathcliff was something of an urban myth at the time. Garm was just contributing by providing an agro draw to keep «Kurken» from focusing entirely on either of the two whittling away its health.

Then the third bar broke and three more «Hellhounds» spawned, snapping the raiders out of their reverie and sparking their battle cries. They wouldn't let the two leaders of this fight show them up completely.

Garm suddenly got careless and had to dive to the ground to avoid a fireball, crashing into Ryzo and leaving Heathcliff alone with the boss. «Kurken» only had half of its last health bar remaining. Suddenly «Kurken» split into two elephant sized «Hellhounds» and the poison canceled. Heathcliff fended off both the initial fireball attacks and put some distance between himself and the two massive «Hellhounds».

A blur of white and red suddenly collided with the side of one of the two «Kurken», exploding in a flash of red light and sending the «Hellhound» crashing into the other. Ryzo landed where the one had been standing, panting, with his health bar now down in the yellow. Heathcliff was still almost untouched. It was clear which of them would win in a fight at the time, but that wasn't important. Ryzo was saved from disaster as Garm pulled him out of the way of a fireball before the cool down from «Solar Dropkick» wore off. «Solar Dropkick» was another move similar to the «Eclipse» series. It had a massive cool down at lower levels, but it was the only anti-boss «Unarmed Sword Skill» in the game.

Ryzo, now riding Garm awkwardly due to the dragon's size and the lack of suitable handholds, pulled out a few more poison coated throwing knives and threw them at the two «Kurkens» in groups of two. The damage was too much for one, the one that he'd kicked over, and it shattered once the poison took root again. The remaining half of the boss was pitifully whimpering on the floor. A hush fell over the cheers the rest of the raid party had been emitting as Heathcliff strode up to «Kurken» and stood in front of the beast's maw.

The sound reminded them of a puppy, abandoned by its family and left on the streets. It brought home the fact that enemy AI meant AI. That to those enemies they slaughtered this world was real. Especially the higher level AIs the boss mobs held.

Solemnly, Heathcliff raised his blade and stabbed down, finishing the fight and the boss once and for all. But no one cheered. No one saw it as a victory in the sense that they had with the first fight. It was just another sobering reminder of what this game's level of realistic detail had reached.

Some, like Klein and Kira, cried for «Kurken» as both Heathcliff and Ryzo received a «Last Attack Bonus». Heathcliff also received a unique item for fulfilling a secret quest. «The Shield of the Merciful». It was the same red shield he would be known by for the multitude of events to come.

Heathcliff opened up a trade window and sent Ryzo his «Last Attack Bonus», which was a special card that would enable him to get discounts at NPC pet equipment stores. "I got this shield. That is all I need. Please, keep the bonus you received. The card is my thanks to your companion for his part in this fight."

Garm actually walked over to Heathcliff and nuzzled the man's leg in thanks after Ryzo had gotten off his back. Those who were on the verge of tears were now officially crying. It was definitely not the kind of mood you'd expect to see after defeating a boss mob.

Ryzo sorted through the drops he'd gotten and was surprised to find that the special item he'd gotten from the «Last Attack Bonus» was another egg. He'd investigate it later, but for the time being he put all things aside as he sprinted for the stairs, Garm close behind. Time was short. He had to reach the next floor and get to the town in the center of it in twenty-five minutes. It may have been awkward, but he knew that Garm would be the only method of travel to use if he was to get there on time.

"Go Ryzo!" Kira yelled, encouraging him to run faster, pump his arms faster, and lean forward slightly more. He didn't know it, but at that moment he had unconsciously activated a «Sword Skill» that had unlocked after his level up from beating the boss. He hadn't even noticed it. It was a charging attack titled «Lunar Blitz». It had no damage factor, but no cool down either. It was a simple boost to his speed that guided his feet a little bit better, made his posture a bit more efficient, and enhanced his reflexes just a little bit. Garm still passed him though.

Once they hit the bottom of the stairs, Ryzo jumped up and kicked off the outer wall of the spiraling path leading to the next floor, landing on his hands and knees on Garm's back. He saw the exclamation point pop up in the top right corner of his vision, letting him know he had a message.

Silently thanking Kayaba for including optical commands for such things, the message opened up in front of him as Garm barreled up the spiraling stairs, closing in on the door.

Twenty minutes left.

Garm began bounding up the stairs in leaps and jumps, using the wall and practically running with his left feet on the spiral's outside wall and his right feet on the stairs. Ryzo had to wrap his arms around his pet's neck to keep from falling off at the bumpy and slightly faster method of travel.

Once again, Ryzo wondered just how advanced Garm's AI was since the dragon had seemed to get smarter each day.

/Ryzo, we've finished the dungeon and cleared the requirements on our end. We just need you to start the festival in the center of «Corpus» on F5. According to Argo you need Garm. She wouldn't tell me what that meant though. Hope you know. How far out are you?/

Kirito had sent the message. While this worried him slightly, the wording suggested that his little sister figure was fine, as were the others. In fact, he doubted anyone would have sent a message had someone died.

"Respond." The voice command opened up a message window and prompted him to vocalize the message. It was a feature few used since they wanted their messages to be private, but it was times like these he was glad for it. "On my way. I know what she meant. Tell her I said thanks for the stool. It's going to be close Mr. Hero."

"Send." The message folded itself up into a digital envelope and vanished from sight just as Garm skidded to a stop in front of the doors and Ryzo rolled off him, stumbling to his feet and shoving the doors open before being scooped up by a black scaly tail and thrown on Garm's back as the dragon took flight for the center of the floor. «Corpus».

Again, Ryzo wondered just how intelligent Garm was. He hadn't needed to say the destination. It was like the dragon knew what the quest objective was despite the fact that they weren't actually participants technically speaking.

Ten minutes left. The floor was nearly pitch black, so Ryzo couldn't make out much more than the immediate area being a plain.

A glowing green blur flew past them from the open side of the floor, moving at a speed that was far too swift to be anything that should be on this floor. Garm began dodging a number of them as Ryzo clung to his pet for dear life. The black dragon locked onto the lights of a town in the distance, well below them, and folded his wings in, pointed his nose at the ground, and began to pick up speed.

The distance between the floors of Aincrad varies. In the first ten floors that distance is 10 km. Ten kilometers. Garm was at a height of 8 when he initiated the dive with seven minutes left on the clock.

Garm fell faster and faster as Ryzo clung with his arms around the black dragon's neck, finding himself experiencing a mixture of exhilaration, joy, and fear at the sudden change of flight plans. Not even twenty meters above the ground, Garm spread his midnight wings out and leveled in his flight, moving across the open plains that rolled beneath them mere inches from Garm's tucked feet.

Three minutes.

Garm began to slow down until he reached a speed that was just below his maximum running speed. With the green glows no longer attacking them, the black dragon bounded into the town, terrifying the NPCs still put for the New Year's celebration, and barreled towards the center of the city.

There, waiting to be lit aflame, was a torch.

Two minutes.

They didn't seem like they were going to make it.

One minute.

Somehow Garm got airborne again and took a deep breath.

Thirty seconds.

And a fireball shot forth from the dragon's mouth, white flames flying freely through the sky. Where «Kurken» had spewed blood red flames, Garm spewed fires that almost exuded a purifying aura.

Five...four...three...two...one...ignition! It was literally a split second ahead of the countdown that the final requirement for the fireworks was completed.

Time almost seemed to freeze for a moment as a series of torches around the town lit up one by one, somehow all lighting in that split second. All with a white flame.

On every floor came a sound and a sight that many doubted they would ever hear or see again. At first people thought it was a bird of some sort crying out loudly, until the skies lit up that is. The raiding party had only just made it up the stairs in time to witness the sight. Monsters all across Aincrad suddenly stopped and stared at the spectacle in the skies. And though they couldn't see it, on each and every other floor of the floating castle the fireworks went off.

They went on for half an hour, filling the dreary and dark skies with a light of hope that infected the eyes of many, many people. As Garm settled on the ground, a grateful old man came up to the dragon and his rider.

"Thank you so much stranger. Without your help those youngsters I had set up those fireworks would've done so much for naught. Here. Take this. They all got a similar reward, but there was one egg left over from the brood." Ryzo took the white egg in his hands and was about to protest when the old man...broke apart into blue polygons. The old man reminded Ryzo of his old sensei...before he had died. A tear fell on Garm's scaly back.

"So, it was an old man's dying wish..." Somehow, that made holding onto the egg a bit more acceptable. Now though...he had two eggs and that meant Garm would have siblings soon, or whenever he managed to fulfill the requirements.

A message popped up in front of him.

/Good work. That was close. Say, we got a bunch of eggs and only Silica really knows what to do with them. You want any? Least we can do to thank you for pulling this together./

Kirito...Ryzo decided at that moment that Kirito was too kind for his own good. It was actually for the best that he had his harem to run the guild for him. In fact, he realized that that was not by choice. Taking the 'Argo-effect' into account, it was likely that Kirito was more or less their personal plaything off the battlefield...one they willingly shared.

The realization that his harem was okay with being a harem, which was both true and not true at the same time, was a bit startling. But it didn't involve him, not at all. And it never would.

/Actually, I got one from the boss mob. Due to the unusual last phase, both me and Heathcliff got something from the LAB. I got an egg...and then some old NPC guy gave me this white egg before...dying. He just kind of shattered really. So, between Garm and the two unknowns I have now...I'm fine with things the way they are. Besides, pets are really useful. And thanks to that new addition to the second volume that Kira's probably going to write after she finds out I got two more eggs...the number of pets is going to rise a bit. Probably a tenth of the remaining players if I had to give a rough estimate./

Ryzo paused and wondered when he'd become so analytical. It hadn't been until after the game had begun...just a bit over a month ago now. The game had changed him. Quickly too. He hit send.

* * *

By the time the other clearers got there it was early in the morning and a party was easily started in the streets to celebrate the success of the fireworks quest, aptly named «Light of Hope». Ryzo was understandably stressed from all that hard work and marching the last few days, as well as the constant fear in the back of his head that this quest he was so insistent on would cost someone's life to complete. He had sought out a quiet corner in the plaza and sat down against Garm's scaly back, trying to relax.

Ryzo was resting against Garm's outstretched form for only a few minutes when a sound reached his ears. It was a sound of revulsion coming from two women. Asuna and Silica. There was some sleazy looking player harassing them and acting all tough. Ryzo was content to wait until either Asuna snapped or Kirito found out...until the sleaze bag claimed his name was Ryzo.

"What the hell did you just say, scum?" Silence filled the area as the raid party members all shut their mouths and looked at the terrifying growling voice that had emanated from a dark corner of the plaza. Ryzo almost seemed to be born from the shadows, his white and red attire being something that should not be capable of being hidden in the darkness.

His pale blue eyes were locked on the sleazy looking character, one whom he remembered as being the most reluctant to join the raid party but had been forced into it by Heathcliff trapping him with words. If he remembered correctly, and he normally did, this man's name was..."Kuradeel. That's your name. I am Ryzo. And I will not tolerate you using my name to hide your identity. I am not a pushover. I am not someone who you want to mess with. I will not stand for this. First, you treat these two heroes of the front line like they're idiots and try to talk them into some sick perverted act. Then you have the gall...the nerve to claim to be me? Safe Zone or not, a punch is a punch. And the town, for tonight at least, seems to be very friendly to me...

"So...you have two choices. I don't care about how much of a help you were in the boss fight. If you did contribute that is. Choice number one: stand there and face my wrath in a duel. A duel in which I shall humiliate you by winning without attacking you more than once. Or there is choice number two: get the hell out of town. Which would you prefer?" Ryzo's eerie calm and disturbingly genuine smile at the time-attack duel request from Kuradeel scared the shit out of a majority of the players who had heard the tale of the first boss fight and how he behaved during it. A few actually believed Ryzo might kill the sleazy guy.

"Just because you fought the boss doesn't mean you're better than me! It was all Heathcliff's doing, the raid, the planning, all of it. I can't believe that a snotty brat like you who would dye their hair white to look older could think to claim responsibility for this win." The countdown to the duel started.

Ryzo took note of the familiar faces in the gathering crowd. Kira, looking absolutely furious with the creep who had insulted him. Heathcliff, looking like he was disappointed he couldn't gut the man himself. Agil, tense and seeming ready to strike if necessary. Kirito, giving him a look that just told him that he'd finish the man off if necessary. Ever the worrywart, as Ryzo had expected. The harem seemed more generally disgusted at the man, which was a mild improvement in their opinion of Ryzo since only Argo and Silica seemed able to stand his presence in the game out of the whole gaggle of girls. Argo was typing away at message after message after message as one of the other raid party members spoke to her. But every few seconds she glanced at the clock and the two combatants and grinned evilly, knowing better than anyone what kind of hellish defeat awaited Kuradeel.

"You know what...I changed my mind. I'm not going to let you off with one hit. I'm going to beat the crap out of you for that last comment. Because guess what dumbass? I lost the use of my legs and my hair turned white after I saved a young girl's life a few years ago. I sacrificed everything I was that day, for a total stranger. And I am proud of the fact that my hair can serve as a memorial to that moment in time. To the death of the old me and the birth of this me. So I think I will take my time chipping away at your health and making you look like a total idiot. And when I'm done...hehehehehe...let's just say you should be grateful I can't do this to the real world version. Not as painfully as this should be at least, had this been real."

This was the moment that Ryzo's darker, more violent side came to be known as one of the greatest mysteries of Sword Art Online. After all, there was no fuse at all to the switch in moods from what most people could tell. It was like a switch had been flipped. The brave, patient, heroic Ryzo that had been seen in the training and the boss fight wasn't even reconcilable with this side of him aside from the fact that it was directed at someone who deserved it. And later on in the events surrounding this terrible Death Game...just how deserving Kuradeel was of Ryzo's fury would be fully understood. And the white-haired fighter's foresight would become legendary as a result. Just like his merciless and meticulous dueling.

"Ha! Bold words coming from a cowardly-" Kuradeel had been distracted by Ryzo's speech. The white haired fighter hadn't taken his eyes off the clock though. The two minute fight had started ten seconds ago. The black tail that had ripped off Kuradeel's right arm and left him screaming at the pain his mind was convinced should exist. Even the dampening of pain that Sword Art Online featured wasn't enough to suppress the phantom pains caused by the sight of one's arm being torn off. If it wasn't for the fact that the red glowing light was there instead of actual gore, Ryzo wouldn't have given Garm the instructions to creep along the rooftops and do that. Half of the challenger's health was gone in an instant.

"I don't like it when people call me a brat or a coward. The only man who I have ever let do that was my sensei. He will be the only man to ever call me that. I proved to him that I wasn't either the day I sacrificed my future for that of another. And he made me swear on his deathbed to never let anyone call me that without good reason. And he would have approved of my use of Garm's tail just now against a man like you. His favorite phrase was 'fight those who have honor with honor, and fight those who have no honor without any mercy. They don't deserve it.'"

Ryzo proceeded to punch Kuradeel in the face once and knocked the screaming man unconscious. He then forced a healing potion down the sleazy man's throat to keep him from dying. He scoffed as he realized he couldn't beat him senseless like he'd intended because of how little health the scumbag had left after that.

"He also said 'do not kill unless it is needed, for you will become a demon and an outcast if you do.' That was his second favorite phrase. And I don't care if I come across as unnecessarily angry or unstable. Because you don't know me. You don't know why I reacted this way. And I don't particularly feel like sharing any more with you. So count yourself blessed that I am not a berserker. My anger is always well managed and controlled. Thank my sensei for your life, if you even remember what I'm saying when you wake up...scum."

Ryzo then turned on his heel and walked out of the plaza, Garm landing behind him and following him closely. Agil, Kira, «Behemoth», and «Rachel» went with him, as did a few others. Ryzo went to the warp gate and left for the third floor.

* * *

January 10th, 2023

The old Viking ship had been sold and the money used to buy the materials and NPC help to build a large sailing ship, the same as the ships used by the explorers who found the Americas. The flag flying from the central mast depicted a black dragon on a white background. The ship itself was white, with black coating anything that wasn't the hull. Except the deck and everything that was out of sight, which remained untainted by paint.

The guildhall for «The Black Dragons». The first members were Agil and Kira. A few of the raid party from the New Year's boss raid had joined as well, after being vetted by Ryzo personally and individually.

The word about what had happened spread swiftly, as had the warning 'let sleeping dragons lay where they lie.' Argo was the prominent circulator of the level of information Ryzo had given out in his rage fueled tirade. And she was responsible for the nickname he'd gotten. Ryzo, «The Ferocious Dragon».

He actually had three dragons now. In addition to Garm, Ryzo now had Kurken, a fire dragon hatched form the LAB the boss mob had given him, and Hope, the ice dragon that had hatched from the egg he'd received from the old man NPC that resembled his sensei. He'd named Hope after what his sensei had given him. Not after the quest.

The guild had already established itself alongside the other three major front line guilds. «Crown of Swords» had formally recognized them as the guild in charge of directing and planning scouting efforts for each new floor, a task Ryzo took to like a duck in water. The proof of this was that the boss room for the next floor had been found BEFORE the front line was even ready to consider fighting it. It was luck that led to this mostly, but it had managed to silence any opposition.

The front became even more organized as days after the New Year's fireworks passed. Heathcliff formed «The Knights of the Blood Oath» swiftly and effectively, already having a higher member count than «The Black Dragons» and the «Crown of Swords» combined. This was, though, quantity. Not quality.

The last guild to take formation and join the leading council of the front lines was the «Divine Dragon Alliance», who were naturally at odds with Ryzo and «The Black Dragons» due to their name. And the fact that no one knew how the hell they had gotten a boat didn't help, especially when the DDA was obsessed with rare goods. And everyone thought that Ryzo was too. After all, he'd gotten three B-rank dragon species pets within a week. So the boat being rare was considered a given.

Ryzo just thought they were idiots and didn't tell anyone how he'd done it so that no one who couldn't figure it out for themselves could have one.

And so, after a wild few days setting up the beginnings of all his desired divisions with Agil's help, Ryzo was lounging in the sun on the deck, waiting for the rest of the guild to return for their official opening celebration. Garm was curled up around him, now the size of a horse. Hope and Kurken were the size of somewhat large puppies now, a result of going for a walk and Garm deciding to hunt some «Wolves» for fun. The EXP had brought the little dragons up to level three in the course of an hour, which was the approximate length of time that Ryzo took for his walk. The two littler dragons now rested on Ryzo's feet, having wrapped themselves around his legs after he'd laid down and rested his head on Garm's stomach.

Ryzo drifted off with his pets around him, making for a rather adorable sight in Kira's opinion once she and Agil returned with the rest of the guild in tow after a successful dungeon raid that Ryzo had declined to join, stating that he needed a more peaceful time to unwind.

In the coming months and years, those three dragons would save his life more times than he could count. And the twists and turns that would occur, including the truth behind Heathcliff, the Death Game, and the secrets that would be unveiled after the most tragic boss raid to date came about.

* * *

**So, that's chapter three. Chapter four is already in the works folks, so I hope I've managed to entertain you with this update. Please tell me what you liked and didn't like. Be specific please. And do so in the form of a review.**


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